Kenya’s police watchdog has accused officers of using “disproportionate force” to quell a recent series of protests during which 65 people died.

In a report released on Thursday, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) linked most of the deaths to actions by the police.

It also highlighted the role of opportunists who infiltrated the protests – described as “goons” – who “undermined the principles of peaceful assembly”.

Over the past six weeks, there have been four separate days of demonstrations which were called over police brutality and anger at government policies.

The first in the capital, Nairobi – on 12 June – was “largely peaceful”, the Ipoa report says. It followed the death in custody of a young teacher and blogger, Albert Ojwang, which the police initially said was a result of self-inflicted injuries.

Since then three police officers have been charged with his murder.

A second protest on 17 June led to the shooting at point-blank range of one civilian, street vendor Boniface Kariuki, who later died. An officer has been charged in connection with the killing.

Then on 23 June, a protest was called to mark a year since deadly anti-government demonstrations broke out over tax rises, which were later reversed. The Ipoa report says that 23 people died in different parts of the country on that day.

The fourth day – 7 July – saw the biggest loss of life with 41 people dying.

Across the four days, the watchdog also documented 342 injuries to civilians and 171 injuries to police, along with looting and vandalism targeting businesses, police stations and government installations.

The Ipoa says its monitors saw “significant breaches of constitutional policing standards, including use of disproportionate force, lack of professionalism, and failure to uphold public safety and rights”.

A police spokesperson declined to comment on the report, instead referring the BBC to an Interior Ministry statement from 15 July, which blamed the violence on “criminals” “looters” and “anarchists”.

Responding to the violence in the wake of the 7 July demonstrations, President William Ruto ordered police to shoot protesters targeting businesses in the legs, ensuring they were incapacitated but not killed.

“Anyone caught burning another person’s business or property should be shot in the leg, hospitalised, and later taken to court. Don’t kill them, but ensure their legs are broken,” the president said.

In June, Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen denied the police had used excessive force and described the protests as “terrorism disguised as dissent” and an “unconstitutional attempt” to change the government.

Rights groups have condemned the government’s response to the protests, accusing the authorities of allowing and at times encouraging the use of deadly force against demonstrators.