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The US Embassy in Kenya has expressed concerns following a dramatic event where police officers teargassed and arrested a section of protesters as the 16 Days of Activism against Femicide came to a close on Tuesday, December 10, 2024.

In a statement on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, the US Embassy noted that the police action on innocent protesters was regrettable and concerning.

“Regrettable and concerning to see police action against Kenyans exercising their constitutional rights to assemble and protest peacefully. On the International Human Rights Day, the United States supports efforts to end femicide and protect the human rights of all people,” the Embassy said.

During the December 10, 2024, protests, police lobbed teargas on protesters in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) while several other demonstrators were arrested and bundled into waiting police vehicles.

Arrests made

Amnesty International Kenya executive director Irungu Houghton was also arrested by plainclothes policemen who forced him into a police Landcruiser.

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) president Faith Odhiambo criticized the government over the act, telling police officers to focus their energies on ending femicide instead.

“The habit of violent response by police to Kenyans expressing their constitutional right to demonstrate and picket is increasingly becoming incorrigible.

“There is absolutely no justification for attacking, arresting, and interfering with harmless Kenyans agitating for the protection of women, especially when the threat of violence against women is, ostensibly, a national crisis. The police must refocus their energy on ending and fighting atrocities, not perpetuating them.

“We support ending femicide, and we support all the brave Kenyans who came out today to call for the overdue change,” Odhiambo’s statement read.

Bodies condemn police action

Amnesty International equally condemned police action during the World Human Rights International Day, stating that it was unlawful to violently disperse women agitating for their plight.

“This protest was a courageous stand against the killing of women, a demand for urgency in investigating these murders, and a call for perpetrators to be held accountable. It is a vital exercise of the constitutionally guaranteed rights to assemble, demonstrate, and petition, as outlined in Article 37 of the Kenyan Constitution. The violent response by police, including the arrest of these peaceful protestors, is a direct attack on Kenya’s democratic principles and the human rights of its citizens,” the statement read.