Will police brutality end in Kenya as protests reignite?
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 747 Ratings
🗓️ 4 July 2025
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A year after a deadly crackdown, Kenya’s streets are alive with protests again, this time after a blogger died in police custody and officers shot a demonstrator at close range. As outrage grows, so do calls for accountability. Why does police brutality persist in Kenya, and how do officers continue to evade justice?
In this episode:
- Irũngũ Houghton (@irunguhoughton), Executive Director, Amnesty International Kenya
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Chloe K Li, Sonia Bhagat, Amy Walters, Marcos Bartolomé, and Haleema Shah, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Melanie Marich, Kisaa Zehra, Remas AlHawari, Marya Khan, and our host, Manuel Rapalo. It was edited by Kylene Kiang and Sarí el-Khalili.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Today, renewed outrage over excessive force by police in Kenya. |
| 0:17.0 | Protesters who came here to the Kenyan capital say they want to pay tribute to the more than 60 people who were killed during anti-government protests last year. |
| 0:29.2 | Why do Kenyan police continue to kill with impunity? |
| 0:34.7 | I'm Manuel Rapalo and and this is The Take. |
| 0:44.9 | My name is Erung Gauten. |
| 0:46.5 | I'm the executive director of Amnesty International Kenya, |
| 0:49.4 | which means that I work with a team of wonderful people |
| 0:52.2 | that are committed to protecting human rights for all human beings. |
| 0:56.0 | Welcome to the take. |
| 0:57.2 | Thank you, many. |
| 0:58.0 | Let's start with the latest. |
| 0:59.4 | This week, we learned that Bonifay's Kariuki, a street vendor, who was shot during protests that took place in June, died after being pronounced brain dead. |
| 1:12.4 | Some breaking news is coming to us now that Boniface Muangi Karioki, |
| 1:16.7 | the mask hawker, has now been confirmed to be dead. |
| 1:19.8 | His family has confirmed to the nation media group via phone, |
| 1:23.7 | and this is the gentleman who was shot by a police officer. |
| 1:28.7 | He was shot at close range by police. |
| 1:32.7 | Can you tell us why this case has been so significant in Kenya? |
| 1:38.4 | You know, Polyphus was neither a peaceful protester, |
| 1:41.2 | nor was he a violent provocator or a looter. He was actually a bystander |
| 1:46.3 | and was making a living that day selling masks to people. These were the COVID-style masks. |
... |
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