Kenyans are being hit hard by price and tax increases. Six people were killed Wednesday, July 12, in several cities in Kenya during anti-government protests banned by the authorities against the introduction of new taxes.
“Lives were lost, dozens of law enforcement officers and civilians were seriously injured, and unimaginable losses to the country’s economy were caused,” the interior minister said in a statement. , Kithure Kindiki, denouncing “widespread violence” and “looting”. “This culture of impunity will end,” he warned.
A police source, who requested anonymity, previously reported “three deaths in Mlolongo” near the capital Nairobi, “where a group of demonstrators blocked the road in protest, and we also have two more in Kitengela. and one in Emali”, respectively located 30 kilometers and 120 kilometers south of the capital. The toll was confirmed in these three cities by another police source.
“Some [rioters] were killed” in a “confrontation with police officers deployed to suppress the riots,” the first police source said.
clashes
Throughout the day on Wednesday, rallies in several cities across the country were punctuated by clashes between demonstrators and security forces, the former throwing stones, the latter responding with tear gas, particularly in the Mathare slum in Nairobi. Police also used tear gas to disperse protesters in the southern port city of Mombasa.
Former Kenyan opposition veteran Raila Odinga, who had been unsuccessful in the presidential election several times, had spearheaded the anti-government mobilization and accused police earlier in the day of “shooting, wounding and killing protesters. », especially in Nairobi.
“These rallies are peaceful until the police decide to disperse them with bullets and tear gas,” he also said during a press conference.
In the Kangemi slum on the outskirts of Nairobi, nearly fifty children have been hospitalized after tear gas was fired near their classrooms. Some were evacuated unconscious but they “are all in stable condition”, the manager of a health center where the children were taken told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Prohibited gatherings
On Tuesday, the national police chief had banned the rallies planned for Wednesday by the opposition, on the grounds that the latter would not have warned the authorities.
The incidents come days after other deadly protests against President William Ruto’s government in several cities across the country. According to the Interior Ministry, at least six people were killed last Friday during these rallies, organized at the call of Raila Odinga. In Nairobi, the police fired tear gas at his convoy. She had done the same to disperse rallies in Mombasa (South) and Kisumu (West).
“Our activities are protected by the Constitution, which guarantees the rights to protest, demonstrate, assemble and voice demands,” Odinga’s spokesman, Dennis Onyango, told AFP.
Raila Odinga was defeated by Mr. Ruto in the August 2022 presidential election, but Mr. Odinga contests his defeat. The alliance of about 20 parties he leads, called Azimio La Umoja (“In Search of Unity”), intends to organize demonstrations every week against the policies pursued by the government.
At the beginning of July, President Ruto promulgated a budget law which introduces a series of new taxes, despite criticism from the opposition and the population of this country affected by high inflation. The text provides in particular for an increase in VAT on fuel from 8% to 16%, as well as an unpopular levy on wages to finance a low-cost housing program.