Kenyans clean up looted shops, torched buildings after day of deadly protests
People react as they look at business premises burnt during demonstrations to mark the first anniversary of the deadly 2024 anti-government protests that drew widespread condemnation over the use of force by security agencies, in downtown Nairobi, Kenya June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi
NAIROBI (Reuters) -Torched buildings were smouldering and shop owners were cleaning up the charred wreckage in central Nairobi on Thursday, after a night of looting and arson followed youth demonstrations in which rights group Amnesty Kenya said 16 people were killed.
Thousands of Kenyans took to the streets on Wednesday, to mark the anniversary of deadly demonstrations a year ago and to protest against the death this month of a blogger held in police custody over a complaint by a senior police official.
More than 60 people were killed in the 2024 demonstrations, led by youth who refer to themselves informally as Gen Z, against a proposed tax hike. This month has seen a number of demonstrations following the death of blogger Albert Ojwang, found to have been beaten in jail.
Wednesday's protests saw police fire tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds in Nairobi, with isolated clashes also breaking out in other towns. Reuters saw several protesters injured in clashes with police.
Amnesty Kenya's executive director Irungu Houghton told Reuters the 16 who were killed on Wednesday had all died of gunshot wounds, suspected to have been inflicted by police officers.
The police have not given an account of casualties or of any shooting. Police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Smoke was billowing from at least 10 torched buildings in downtown Nairobi on Thursday morning.
"Look: everything they burnt. So please government, try talking to the Gen Z. Because that this happened (because) of Gen Z. So the Gen Z, try to sit down and talk with the government," said Ibrahim Hamisi, owner of one of the burnt buildings.
Shopkeeper Josephine Apondi said "thugs" had looted 2 million shillings ($15,500) worth of phones and electronics from her Nairobi shop.
"Things are so tough in our country right now. Sometimes we come morning until evening and we have not sold. And to remember this is something you have invested in for so long," she said.
Kenyan media also reported cases of destruction and looting in 26 other counties where protests took place.
Prosecutors have approved murder charges against six people, including three police officers, in the case of the blogger Ojwang, 31, who died after being arrested as part of an investigation triggered by a complaint by the deputy national police chief, Eliud Lagat.
All six defendants have pleaded not guilty. Reuters has been unable to reach Lagat for comment.
(Additional reporting by Humphrey MalaloWriting by George ObulutsaEditing by Ammu Kannampilly and Peter Graff)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
Ukraine on track to withdraw from Ottawa anti-personnel mines treaty, Zelenskiy decree shows
FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy looks on at a press conference during a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Ukraine's Constitution Day, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, June, 28, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo (Corrects spelling of slug. No change to text.) KYIV (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday he had signed a decree to pull Ukraine out of the Ottawa Convention banning the production and use of anti-personnel mines as a necessary step in view of Russian tactics in their 40-month-old war. Ukraine ratified the convention in 2005. Other countries bordering Russia, notably Finland, Poland and the three ex-Soviet Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - have either withdrawn from the convention or indicated that they would do so. Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address that Russia had never been a party to the convention "and is using anti-personnel mines with utmost cynicism" along with other weapons, including ballistic missiles. "This is a hallmark of Russian killers. To destroy life by all means at their disposal. ... We see how our neighbours in Europe react to this threat," he said. "We also know the complexities of the withdrawal procedure when it is conducted during war. We take this political step and give a signal to our political partners on what to focus on. This concerns all countries that border Russia," he said. Anti-personnel mines, Zelenskiy said, are "often the instrument for which nothing can be substituted for defence purposes." Russia has used anti-personnel mines extensively in parts of Ukraine where its forces have been operating. Ukraine sees the clearing of such mines as a key element in post-war recovery. The decree appearing on the president's website calls for support for a Ukrainian foreign ministry proposal to "withdraw Ukraine from the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction of September 18, 1997." A senior Ukrainian lawmaker, Roman Kostenko, said that parliamentary approval was still needed to withdraw from the treaty. "This is a step that the reality of war has long demanded. Russia is not a party to this Convention and is massively using mines against our military and civilians," Kostenko, secretary of the Ukrainian parliament's committee on national security, defence and intelligence, said on his Facebook page. "We cannot remain tied down in an environment where the enemy has no restrictions," he added, saying that the legislative decision must definitively restore Ukraine's right to effectively defend its territory. Russia has intensified its offensive operations in Ukraine in recent months, using significant superiority in manpower. Kostenko did not say when the issue would be debated in parliament. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Susan Fenton, Ron Popeski and Mark Porter)
The Star
7 hours ago
- The Star
Intercepted Iranian communications downplay damage from US attack, Washington Post reports
FILE PHOTO: A satellite image shows damage to the tunnel entrances of the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Research Center, following U.S. airstrikes amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Isfahan, Iran, June 22, 2025. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Intercepted Iranian communications downplayed the extent of damage caused by U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear program, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing four people familiar with classified intelligence circulating within the U.S. government. A source, who declined to be named, confirmed that account to Reuters but said there were serious questions about whether the Iranian officials were being truthful, and described the intercepts as unreliable indicators. The report by the Post is the latest, however, to raise questions about the extent of the damage to Iran's nuclear program. A leaked preliminary assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency cautioned the strikes may have only set back Iran by months. President Donald Trump has said the strikes "completely and totally obliterated" Iran's nuclear program, but U.S. officials acknowledge it will take time to form a complete assessment of the damage caused by the U.S. military strikes last weekend. The White House dismissed the report by the Post. "The notion that unnamed Iranian officials know what happened under hundreds of feet of rubble is nonsense. Their nuclear weapons program is over," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was quoted as saying by the Post. In an interview broadcast on Sunday on Fox News, Trump reiterated his confidence that the strikes had destroyed Iran's nuclear capabilities. "It was obliterated like nobody's ever seen before. And that meant the end to their nuclear ambitions, at least for a period of time," he said on the "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo" program. (Reporting by Phil Stewart and Katharine Jackson; Editing by Chris Reese)
The Star
10 hours ago
- The Star
Republican Senator Mullin says babies born in US should be deported if parents are
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) responds to questions from the media as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo (Reuters) -Republican U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin said on Sunday he believes babies born in the United States to immigrants living in the country illegally should be deported alongside their parents if the adults are removed. Mullin's comments on NBC's "Meet the Press" came in response to questions about a U.S. Supreme Court decision on Friday that paved the way for President Donald Trump's executive order restricting birthright citizenship to go into effect soon in some states. The court's ruling did not address the legality of Trump's order, which would upend the historic practice of granting U.S. citizenship to anyone born in the country regardless of their parents' immigration status. NBC's Kristen Welker asked Mullin what should happen to babies born in the United States whose parents are deported, given that the children are U.S. citizens under current law. "Well, they should go where their parents are," said Mullin, of Oklahoma. "Why wouldn't you send a child with their parents? I mean, why would you want to separate them?" Friday's court decision caused confusion among immigrants and advocates, who scrambled to understand the practical effects if birthright citizenship applies to babies born in some states but not in others. (Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone and Mark Porter)
