Six Kenyan police officers were charged on Thursday with murdering two brothers, a month after the deaths that triggered widespread protests.

The officers - four men and two women - all pleaded not guilty and were remanded in custody, one of their lawyers, Danstan Omari, said.

The two brothers, Emmanuel Mutura Ndwiga and Benson Njiru Ndwiga, were found dead in a morgue in the eastern county of Embu in early August, The Standard Newspaper and other Kenyan media reported.

The young men had been arrested by police days earlier on charges of violating a curfew imposed to contain the coronavirus, media reported.

Angry crowds took to the streets and campaigns sprang up on social media demanding justice for the brothers, who were both university students.

Rights groups have accused the government of failing to crack down on violent police tactics — accusations dismissed by the government and the police.