IMLU Report Exposes Systemic Police Brutality Amidst Gen Z Crackdown in Kenya

Nairobi, Kenya – A shocking new report by the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) has laid bare what it describes as a systemic culture of police brutality and impunity within Kenya’s security forces. Titled “Silenced But Unbowed,” the report draws from medical evidence and eyewitness testimonies, documenting at least 63 killings, 63 abductions, and hundreds of injuries linked directly to police operations in recent years — with a significant focus on the 2024 Gen Z-led protests.

According to IMLU, these abuses are not isolated incidents but part of an entrenched pattern of state-sanctioned violence, where law enforcement officers routinely escape accountability. Particularly harrowing is the gendered targeting of violence: almost all victims of killings and abductions were young men, underscoring what the report describes as a deliberate effort to suppress youth dissent.

The report also reveals systematic attempts to evade scrutiny, including the use of masks and unmarked uniforms by security officers during operations, making identification nearly impossible.

In a sharp rebuke of government oversight failures, Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambocondemned recent budget cuts to key accountability institutions like the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR). She warned that these financial rollbacks are undermining efforts to deliver justice to victims and embolden further state violence.

IMLU’s findings come amid growing calls for comprehensive security sector reform, with civil society urging the government to reinstate funding and ensure independent investigations into all documented abuses.