# Kenyan protester dies after close-range police shooting during anti-government unrest
Event date: 2025-06-30
A Kenyan civilian shot at close range by police during protests has died, adding to the grim aftermath of a wave of unrest that has shaken the country and drawn fresh criticism of police conduct.
The man was struck during demonstrations over the death of blogger Albert Ojwang in custody, according to the reporting from CTV News. His family said he died after being shot at close range by an officer during the protests.
The broader protest movement has become a test of how Kenya’s security forces respond to dissent, and of how much space remains for public criticism in a tense political climate. DW reported that the most recent nationwide anti-government protests left 19 demonstrators dead and at least 500 injured, with Amnesty International saying the injuries were caused by gunfire. The same report said police used tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition in many cases.
The violence was not limited to the state. Journalists on the ground also reported looting in Nairobi and elsewhere, as some demonstrators damaged shops and property. But the central concern in the reporting was the force used by security services, including the decision to restrict live media coverage of the protests. Judges later revoked that order, yet the attempt itself alarmed press-freedom groups.
DW said the Communications Authority of Kenya tried to block live reporting, a move that observers described as a dangerous precedent. Muthoki Mumo of the Committee to Protect Journalists argued that the order fit a broader pattern in which the government has struggled to respond to criticism from large numbers of young people protesting over the past year.
The scale of the unrest matters because it is not an isolated incident. The DW report noted that the protests came one year after people stormed parliament during anti-government demonstrations in 2024, when 60 people were killed. That history helps explain why the latest deaths have produced such strong alarm. The latest fatal shooting now sits within a sequence of confrontations that have repeatedly escalated from protest to lethal violence.
What the evidence supports is a stark picture: a man shot at close range, a protest movement already marked by many deaths and injuries, and a state response that has raised concerns about both policing and press freedom. The family’s confirmation of the death is the latest indication that the consequences of the unrest are still unfolding.
The political trigger for the demonstrations was the death in custody of Albert Ojwang. The wider effect has been to intensify scrutiny of the government’s handling of dissent and to deepen fears that the cycle of protest and force could continue.
