Kenya’s Inspector General of Police, Japhet Koome, has resigned following a brutal police crackdown on anti-tax protesters that resulted in the deaths of more than 40 individuals.

The Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights reported that 39 people were killed as the police used excessive force against the demonstrators. The toll increased following the commission’s report.

Mr Koome’s resignation was announced in a statement by State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed on Friday.

“HIS EXCELLENCY William Samoei Ruto, PhD, CGH, president and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, has, on this 12th day of July 2024, accepted the resignation of Eng. Japheth N. Koome, MGH, as the Inspector General of the National Police Service,” the statement reads.

In the statement, Mr Ruto appointed Douglas Kanja, the current Deputy Inspector General of the Kenya Police Service, as the acting Inspector General of the National Police Service.

This development follows Mr Ruto’s decision to dismiss his cabinet members the previous day in an attempt to address the grievances of the anti-tax protesters.

Prior to the cabinet reshuffle on Thursday, Mr Ruto had announced a series of austerity measures, including the scrapping of the budgets for the offices of the First and Second Ladies and the dissolution of 47 state agencies, among other cuts.