Two people were killed on Wednesday during protests against high prices and government policy in several Kenyan towns, led by the opposition, and where more than 300 people were arrested.
“There are two bodies registered at the morgue with gunshot wounds,” George Rae, head of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Hospital, in Kisimu (west), a stronghold of opponent Raila Odinga, told AFP by telephone. Fourteen people were also hospitalized, he added, following clashes with the police.
“More than 300 people have been arrested across the country and will be charged with various offenses including looting, malicious damage to property, arson, robbery and assault on law enforcement,” Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki previously said.
The mobilization seemed relatively calmer than in recent weeks. The previous day of protest, July 12, saw 9 people killed and more than 300 arrested.
This protest movement launched in March by the opposition coalition Azimio, led by veteran Raila Odinga, has given rise in recent weeks to acts of vandalism, looting and violence which have left at least twenty dead.
Deployed in large numbers on Wednesday, the security forces dispersed with tear gas small groups which harassed them with stone throwing, in particular in Kibera, a slum of the capital Nairobi, and in the cities of Kisumu, Homa Bay, Kisii and Migori, pro-Odinga strongholds in the west of the country.
Hailing an “extremely successful” day, Azimio called on “Kenyans to come out even stronger” on Thursday, the second of three days of action scheduled through Friday against Ruto government policy.
Elected in August 2022 by promising to support the most disadvantaged, William Ruto faces growing opposition, especially since the promulgation in early July of a law introducing new taxes which add to the daily difficulties of Kenyans.
Traveling to the city of Kericho, the head of state denounced the attitude of his rival during the last presidential election in August 2022, which he accuses of inciting “chaos”.
“We don’t want a country of violence, fighting or destruction of property…Police need to make sure they are tough on criminals, gangs, anarchists and anyone who wants to cause chaos,” he said.
The government, considering that these demonstrations are “nothing more than a threat to national security”, had placed Nairobi under close police surveillance, as well as Mombasa (southwest) and Kisumu.
He had also ordered the closure of public schools in these three cities. Schools will reopen on Thursday.
In the Kenyan capital, the usually busy streets were calm and many businesses had kept their curtains down, AFP journalists noted.
This movement divides the population of Kenya, the economic locomotive of East Africa which is fighting against continuous inflation (8% over one year in June) but also finds itself paralyzed with each day of mobilization.
Unemployed 47-year-old Fred Onzere supports the protest because, he believes, Kenya is “going in the wrong direction”.
Monica Njoki wants these gatherings to “stop”. “The protests have greatly affected my life, I cannot go to work freely”, explains this 45-year-old trader, believing that it is necessary “to give the president time to keep his promises”.
This is the third time since the beginning of July that the opposition has organized such days of action.
The police were strongly criticized for their repression, including live ammunition, after the July 12 mobilization.
The NGO Human Rights Watch had urged the Kenyan authorities to protect the right of citizens to demonstrate peacefully.
Thirteen Western countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, expressed in a joint statement on Tuesday their concern at the “high levels of violence” during the latest demonstrations, urging the various parties to “peacefully resolve their differences”.
According to an association of private sector organizations (Kepsa), each day of mobilization causes the country’s economy to lose the equivalent of 3 billion shillings (about 19 million euros).
07/19/2023 21:57:08 – Nairobi (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
