Ten dead and dozens injured in Kenya anti-government protests
By Humphrey Malalo
Kenyan police fired to disperse demonstrators in Nairobi marking the 35th anniversary of pro-democracy rallies on Monday, as Kenya's rights watchdog reported 10 dead and 29 injured nationwide in the latest anti-government protests to end in bloodshed.
The death of blogger Albert Ojwang in police custody last month has given the protests fresh impetus, fuelling anger against the authorities and bringing hundreds onto the streets.
A Reuters reporter saw police fire at advancing protesters in the Nairobi suburb of Kangemi, with one man later lying motionless on the road with a bleeding wound.
The suburb's Eagle Nursing Home said six people had been admitted with injuries, and that two had died from gunshot wounds. A source at Kenyatta National Hospital said it was treating 24 injured people, but did not elaborate on their injuries.
The government-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights said it had documented 10 dead and 29 injured. It did not provide a breakdown of the figures, recorded across 17 of Kenya's 47 counties.
Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Law enforcers have been deploying heavily in Nairobi since youth-led protests in June 2024 that initially focused on tax hikes but expanded to cover issues such as corruption, police brutality and unexplained disappearances of government critics.
Police used tear gas and water cannon on Monday to disperse hundreds of demonstrators advancing along a road connecting Kangemi to downtown Nairobi.
Hours later, protesters and police scuffled, and a Reuters reporter saw police opening fire as the crowd charged at them.
The Commission on Human Rights said it saw "numerous hooded officers, not in uniform, travelling in unmarked vehicles". A court order requires police to be easily identifiable following allegations that plain clothes police fired live rounds at demonstrators last year.
The Commission also said criminal gangs wielding whips and machetes appeared to be operating alongside police in Nairobi and the Rift Valley town of Eldoret.
Local media said there had also been demonstrations in the towns of Nyeri, Embu and the lakeside city of Nakuru, where half a dozen police on horseback dispersed stone-throwing protesters.
Police had blocked major roads leading into Nairobi and restricted traffic within the city, leaving streets deserted but for the demonstrators, who arrived on foot. Most schools and at least one shopping mall were shut in anticipation of trouble.
Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen, who last month described the protests as "terrorism disguised as dissent", said on Sunday that the government was committed to protecting life and property.
"Our security agencies are on high alert to deal decisively with criminals and other elements of ill intent who may seek to infiltrate peaceful processions to cause havoc, mayhem, or destruction of property," he said.
Activists rally every July 7 to mark the day in 1990 when opponents of then-president Daniel Arap Moi launched a bid to turn Kenya into a multi-party democracy. The protest is called "Saba Saba" - "Seven Seven" in Kiswahili - because of the date.
Those protests paved the way two years later for the first multi-party elections in more than two decades.
The death of 31-year-old Ojwang, a blogger and teacher, has focused public anger, sparking a string of demonstrations last month.
On June 25, according to the Commission, 19 people lost their lives nationwide in demonstrations to protest against Ojwang's death and mark the first anniversary of rallies that culminated in the storming of parliament.
Six people including three police officers have been charged with murder over Ojwang's death.
© Thomson Reuters 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yomiuri Shimbun
10 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Sacked Russian Transport Minister Found Dead in His Car with Gunshot Wound
July 7 (Reuters) – Russia's sacked transport minister has been found dead in his car outside Moscow with a gunshot wound and the principal hypothesis is that he took his own life, state investigators said on Monday, hours after President Vladimir Putin fired him. A presidential decree published earlier on Monday gave no reason for the dismissal of Roman Starovoit, 53, after barely a year in the job, though political analysts were quick to raise the possibility that he may have been dismissed in connection with an investigation into corruption in the region he once ran. Reuters could not independently confirm these suggestions, though a transport industry source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Starovoit's position had been in question for months due to questions about the same corruption scandal. That investigation centres on whether 19.4 billion roubles ($246 million) earmarked in 2022 for fortifying Russia's border with Ukraine in the Kursk region was properly spent or whether some of that money was embezzled. Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in a statement it was working to establish the precise circumstances of Starovoit's death. A pistol belonging to Starovoit, who was divorced with two daughters, had been found near his body, various Russian media outlets cited law enforcement sources as saying. Some Russian media, citing law enforcement sources, also said his body had been found with a gunshot wound to the head in bushes near his car, a Tesla, rather than in the car itself. The vehicle was left near a park not far from his home in the Moscow region. Before being appointed transport minister in May 2024, Starovoit had been governor of the Kursk region for nearly five years. Three months after he became transport minister, Ukrainian troops crossed the border into Kursk in the biggest foreign incursion into Russian territory since World War Two and were only pushed out earlier this year after fierce fighting and widespread destruction. In April this year, Starovoit's successor as governor and his former deputy, Alexei Smirnov, was charged with embezzling money earmarked for defence purposes amid accusations that funds intended for border defences had been stolen, leaving Kursk more vulnerable to Ukrainian attack. Various Russian media outlets reported on Monday that Smirnov had told state investigators that Starovoit had also been in on the fraud. Reuters could not confirm that, and a lawyer for Smirnov – who has pleaded not guilty to embezzlement – told the state RIA news agency that he couldn't comment. TRANSPORT CHALLENGES Starovoit's dismissal comes at a time of significant challenges for Russia's transport sector as the war in Ukraine drags on for a fourth year. Russia's aviation sector is short of spare parts and Russian Railways, the country's largest employer, is grappling with soaring interest costs as high rates – needed to curb higher inflation exacerbated by the war – take their toll. Long-range Ukrainian drones also frequently force Russian airports to suspend their activities for safety reasons, sometimes causing major disruption. The Kremlin said Andrei Nikitin, a former governor of the Novgorod region, had been appointed acting transport minister, and it published photographs of him shaking hands with Putin in the Kremlin. Asked about Nikitin's swift appointment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin thought Nikitin had the right professional qualities and experience for the job. The transport ministry declined to comment. At his meeting with Putin, Nikitin spoke about working to digitise Russia's transport industry in an effort to reduce cargo bottlenecks and ensure smoother cross-border flows of goods.
Nikkei Asia
11 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Japan, South Korea in Trump's firing line with China on the sidelines
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, left, and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, right: Both countries are threatened with 25% "reciprocal" tariffs. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters and Uichiro Kasai) MITSURU OBE and KIM JAEWON TOKYO/SEOUL -- Japan and South Korea found themselves in the firing line of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff measures on Tuesday, threatened with 25% "reciprocal" tariffs unless they reach a trade deal with Washington by Aug. 1. Japan and South Korea are among the 14 -- mostly Asian -- countries Trump singled out for new reciprocal levies and negotiation deadlines in letters released in the U.S. on Monday. China is the biggest economy in Asia, but with a temporary trade deal already reached last month, Tokyo and Seoul are Trump's current targets.
Yomiuri Shimbun
14 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average Buoyed by Weak Yen as Trump Tariff Deadline Delayed
TOKYO, July 8 (Reuters) – Japan's Nikkei share average rose on Tuesday, buoyed by a weakening yen and as U.S. President Donald Trump gave an additional three-week grace period for tariff negotiations. The Nikkei .N225 gained 0.2% to 39,679.13 as of 0220 GMT. The broader Topix .TOPX added 0.1%. On Monday, Trump began telling selected trade partners that they will see higher tariff rates from August 1, with the original three-month moratorium on 'Liberation Day' reciprocal levies expiring on Wednesday. Japan will now see a rate of 25%. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said his administration would continue negotiations with the White House to seek a mutually beneficial bilateral deal. Initially touted by Trump's team as a likely early success, talks with Tokyo remain stalled for weeks, largely over a 25% tariff on Japanese auto imports. 'It's very clear that it be will very difficult' to overcome the obstacles to an agreement on autos, said the chief macro strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management, Masayuki Kichikawa, who sees the 25% duty on the sector sticking. Japan's best outcome would be a lowering of the universal 25% rate to the baseline 10% the U.S. is levying on all trading partners, he said. According to Kichikawa, 'there is no choice other than to wait and see' for now as the July 20 Japanese upper house elections leave Ishiba's team little room to show flexibility in trade negotiations until after the result. Japanese stocks rose on the day even after the tariff announcements, which also included South Korea along with a host of smaller nations, sent Wall Street sliding from record highs. Japan's heavyweight exporters were supported by a sharply weaker yen, with Trump's new tariff rates spurring a broad rally in the U.S. currency overnight. A weaker yen inflates the value of overseas revenues. The chip sector was a standout, with Advantest 6857.T gaining 2.2% and Furukawa Electric 5801.T jumping 7.7%. Automakers advanced, with Mazda 7261.T climbing 2.5% and Toyota 7203.T up 0.5%. However, shares of embattled Nissan 7201.T slumped for a third day, shedding an additional 2.9%.
