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Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka has rallied fellow senators to push the government to accord a state funeral to those killed in protests.

Speaking during a Senate session on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, the lawmaker averred that those who lost their lives had reached a dead-end.

Senator Onyonka told his fellow legislators that they need to push for a state funeral as their protests have opened a new discourse among the political class.

Further, the Kisii senator asserted that the deceased persons should not be treated as criminals but accorded the necessary respect.

“I want to ask this house, the Senate, let us make sure that those children get a state funeral,” Onyonka stated.

“Those were not criminals, these were children who had reached a dead end,” he added.

While advocating for the proper burial of those killed in protests, Senator Onyonka further noted that the political class needs to take the front seat in spearheading the change as envisioned by thousands of Gen Zs who took to the streets.

“For this country to change we, as the political class, must be willing to change,” the Kisii senator insisted.

He called on politicians to abhor certain vices that perpetuate hate and contribute to the plunder of public resources.

Kisii Senator @RichardOnyonka_: For this country to change we, as the political class, must be willing to change. #SenateLive pic.twitter.com/lxA8R7idsb

— Senate of Kenya (@Senate_KE) July 3, 2024

Death toll in protests

According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), 39 people have been killed and hundreds more injured in anti-government demonstrations.

“Data from our records indicates that 39 people have died and 361 have been injured in relation to the protests countrywide,” the state-funded body said in a statement, adding that the figures covered the period from June 18, 2024, to July 1, 2024.

It also said there had been 32 cases of enforced or involuntary disappearances and 627 arrests of protesters.

“The commission continues to condemn in the strongest terms possible the unwarranted violence and force that was inflicted on protesters, medical personnel, lawyers, journalists and on safe spaces such as churches, medical emergency centres and ambulances,” the KNCHR said.

“We maintain that the force used against the protesters was excessive and disproportionate.”

Ruto’s stance

In a roundtable interview with journalists, President William Ruto maintained that he has no blood on his hands.

“I have no blood on my hands. 19 people to the record that I have been dead. Very unfortunate, as a democracy that should not be part of our conversation,” Ruto said when he was asked about what thinks about the lives that have been lost.

However, he has vowed to engage the youth to find a lasting solution to problems bedeviling the country.

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