Protests claim more lives in Kenya (VIDEO)
The latest casualties add to a growing toll from deadly unrest that has gripped Kenya in recent weeks.
The protests on Monday were held to mark the 35th anniversary of Saba Saba – Swahili for 'Seven Seven' – a historic July 7, 1990 uprising against single-party rule that is now remembered annually as a symbol of resistance to repression and economic injustice.
In a statement late on Monday, the Kenyan National Police Service (NPS) said 63 people, including 52 police officers and 11 civilians, were wounded during the demonstrations, which it claimed were infiltrated by 'criminals.'
At least 19 vehicles – 12 belonging to the police, three to government agencies, and four to civilians – were damaged, according to the statement. A total of 567 people were arrested, the NPS said, praising its personnel for 'demonstrating exceptional restraint and professionalism in the face of sustained violence and provocation by criminals.'
BREAKING NEWS: Massive protests are happening in Kenya 🇰🇪 pic.twitter.com/pnkYlrtEto
Local daily The Nation reported that one protester was shot dead in Ol Kalou, Nyandarua county, while another survived after sustaining gunshot wounds.
Earlier, the state-run Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) reported at least ten people killed, 29 injured, two cases of abduction, and 37 arrests across 17 provinces.
The organization accused police of violating a court order requiring officers at protests to be in uniform, saying it observed 'hooded officers, not in uniform' operating alongside 'criminal gangs wielding crude weapons' in counties including the capital, Nairobi.
'The KNCHR calls on the government to immediately cease the harassment of Civil Society Organizations, Human Rights Defenders and the criminalization of legitimate human rights work,' it said in a statement.
Late last month, 19 people were killed nationwide during demonstrations marking the first anniversary of last year's youth-led protests against a controversial finance bill – later withdrawn by the government – and the custodial death of Albert Ojwang, a blogger and teacher, according to the KNCHR. Six people, including three policemen, were charged with murder in connection to Ojwang's death, although they all pleaded not guilty.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
12 hours ago
- Russia Today
Fuel price hike sparks deadly unrest in Angola
At least 22 people, including a police officer, were killed and nearly 200 others injured during violent protests in Angola this week over a fuel price hike, according to the southern African nation's interior minister, Manuel Homem. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a council of ministers meeting on Wednesday, the official said 1,214 protesters had been arrested for 'acts of vandalism and looting.' Homem reported that 66 stores and 25 vehicles were vandalized across the country, while banks, major supermarkets, and wholesale and retail warehouses were looted. The violence broke out earlier this week after minibus taxi associations began a three-day strike opposing the government's decision to increase diesel prices by one-third, a move aimed at cutting costly subsidies and strengthening public finances. Protesters took to the streets in the capital, Luanda, with sporadic gunfire reportedly heard across the city on Monday and Tuesday. Clashes between demonstrators and security forces were also reported in the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, and Huila. 'The acts carried out by the protesters, worsened by the presence of infiltrators with criminal intentions, show that the phenomenon has gone beyond a mere demand and now represents a threat to public order,' the Angolan presidency said in a post on Facebook on Wednesday. Interior Minister Homem warned that while demonstrations are permitted by law, any descent into vandalism will be met with a firm and appropriate response. Angola, Africa's second-largest oil producer after Nigeria, has been gradually phasing out fuel subsidies since 2023, when a gasoline price increase sparked deadly protests, according to Reuters. The government's move is said to be in response to recommendations from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to direct more public funds toward health and education. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu tried a similar move in his country in 2023, scrapping fuel subsidies shortly after taking office as part of reforms to reduce the budget deficit, triggered widespread protests amid a worsening cost-of-living crisis. The West African country's labor union has blamed the loan policies of the IMF and the World Bank for deepening the nation's economic troubles.
Russia Today
4 days ago
- Russia Today
West could be behind Ukraine's anti-graft rallies – ex-Austrian FM
Recent protests in Ukraine sparked by Vladimir Zelensky's crackdown on anti-corruption agencies may have been orchestrated by Western countries, former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl has claimed in an interview with TASS. Thousands reportedly took to the streets across Ukraine last week after Zelensky placed the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) under executive oversight. The decision followed a series of raids by security services targeting NABU staff. Protesters accused Zelensky of betraying the country and demanded he reverse the law. Zelensky defended his actions by claiming the anti-corruption bodies had come under Russian influence. His critics, however, described the overhaul as an authoritarian consolidation of power. The move has also been criticized in the West, as the independent agencies are a prerequisite for Ukraine's integration into the EU. 'It looks rather strange for a country and leadership that are heavily dependent on the West [to take this step],' Kneissl told TASS on Monday. She went on to suggest that the protests may not have been spontaneous. 'It's possible that they were organized,' she said. Opponents of the bill have drawn parallels to Ukraine's 2014 Maidan uprising, which led to the ousting of then-President Viktor Yanukovich. Kneissl echoed this view, noting that the Euromaidan protests were 'very well organized, generously funded,' and likely supported by US Embassy staff. She pointed to widely shared images of US diplomat Victoria Nuland handing out cookies to protesters in Kiev. The latest protests at home and backlash from abroad have since forced Zelensky to backpedal on the clampdown and introduce a new bill that contains 'full-fledged guarantees of the independence of anti-corruption agencies' and is designed to 'keep out' any alleged Russian interference. Kneissl, who served as Austria's foreign minister from 2017 to 2019, is known for her close ties to Russia. She sat on the board of state-owned oil giant Rosneft until resigning in 2022. That year, she left Austria and eventually settled in a village in Ryazan Region, Russia, citing death threats and professional isolation.
Russia Today
4 days ago
- Russia Today
Zelensky thought he was killing it. He was
Ukrainians have had plenty of reasons to take to the streets: the cancellation of elections, forced mobilization, the refusal to demobilize soldiers who've been on the front lines for over three years, the persecution of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, corruption in the construction of fortifications, the state's failure to have the bodies of fallen soldiers returned, and – above all – the complete absence of a plan for ending the conflict with Russia. This list could go on. And yet, none of these issues has triggered large-scale protests. What we've seen instead are isolated outbursts: in towns and villages, women block draft officers from entering their neighborhoods; churchgoers physically defend their parishes; the wives and mothers of Ukrainian soldiers stage small rallies to draw attention to their plight. And yet, even in this atmosphere of fear and suppression, Vladimir Zelensky has managed to ignite a political crisis. The hasty passage of Bill No. 12414 – which stripped the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) of their independence – sparked a wave of demonstrations that haven't let up for days. It's the first major popular protest since the start of Russia's military operation, and it poses a serious challenge to Zelensky's grip on power. Rallies have broken out in Kiev, Lviv, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Rovno, and Nikolayev. While officials have tried to frame them as spontaneous, local expressions of concern about anti-corruption institutions, the scope and coordination suggest otherwise. The message to Zelensky is simple: the pressure is just beginning. To understand why the anti-corruption issue struck such a nerve, we need to go back to the beginning. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) were established in 2015 with active backing from the United States – just a year after the coup in Kiev. At the time, Ukraine's Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin openly stated that the idea for NABU came directly from then–Vice President Joe Biden. From the outset, these agencies functioned as tools of external oversight over the post-Maidan Ukrainian government. President Petro Poroshenko, who was still consolidating power and ideology, did not resist Washington's involvement. NABU's early targets included oligarchs like Igor Kolomoysky and Rinat Akhmetov, who controlled major media holdings. This suited Poroshenko, whose own business interests, notably, remained untouched. Over time, it became clear that Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies served not only their official mission but also the political interests of a specific faction – namely, the US Democratic Party. A prime example is the Paul Manafort case. In 2016, The New York Times, citing NABU sources, published claims that Manafort – then campaign chairman for Donald Trump – had received undisclosed payments from Ukraine's Party of Regions under President Viktor Yanukovych. These claims prompted a US investigation into possible Ukrainian interference in the American election. In 2019, the Senate ultimately found no evidence – but the episode left a lasting impression. That same year, NABU played a role in deflecting scrutiny from the Burisma scandal – the energy company whose board included Joe Biden's son, Hunter. Over time, the link between these anti-corruption institutions and the US Democratic Party became apparent to many Ukrainians. And with Republicans now back in power in Washington, Zelensky appears to have decided it was time to free himself from external control. Zelensky likely assumed that the new American administration wouldn't go out of its way to defend the Democratic Party's proxies in Ukraine. Judging by Washington's muted response, that calculation may have been correct. What he failed to consider, however, was the level of domestic resistance to his growing concentration of power. Ukraine today is full of pressure points. Discontent is widespread – but scattered and disorganized. Zelensky's opponents simply lack the means to unseat him. Moreover, Zelensky remains the centerpiece of the West's anti-Russian strategy – a leader willing to accept any domestic cost in service of that agenda. Even policies that threaten the foundations of Ukrainian statehood are tolerated, so long as the broader project of an 'anti-Russia' continues. That's why the West has looked the other way with regards to forced mobilization, canceled elections, and the refusal to rotate exhausted troops at the front. For a while, this gave Zelensky free rein to act inside the country. But now the ground is shifting. A key sign: the growing frustration among those who spent years working within grant-funded structures aligned with the US Democratic Party. Leading this informal coalition is former president Petro Poroshenko. Under threat of criminal prosecution, Poroshenko has spent months quietly building a new political bloc. He has the money, the media, and the electoral base – fractured as it may be. For this group, Zelensky's move against the anti-corruption agencies – in effect, a move against external oversight – is the perfect pretext to reassert themselves and reclaim a measure of Western support. Zelensky is unlikely to use force against protests centered on NABU and SAPO. Doing so would only strengthen the narrative that he's drifting toward authoritarianism. That's precisely why the demonstrations over Bill No. 12414 are a safer platform for opposition than protests against illegal military draft raids or other abuses by Ukraine's Territorial Recruitment Centers. The rallies have already attracted political heavyweights – including the Klitschko brothers, longtime rivals of Zelensky, and the legislator Maryana Bezuhla. The latter actually voted for the bill, but showed up at the protest claiming to support the Armed Forces – or perhaps simply to spite Commander-in-Chief Aleksandr Syrsky, with whom she's long feuded. This kind of narrative hijacking is exactly what makes the protests dangerous for Zelensky. Like in 2013–2014, a movement that begins with one demand can quickly pick up steam – and new political slogans – until it snowballs into a full-blown crisis. The opposition is seizing its moment. Their goals may not fully align with Washington's, but they've succeeded in riding the wave – and that alone spells trouble for Zelensky. It's telling that Ukraine's Western partners haven't publicly condemned Zelensky. Still, pressure is clearly mounting – through media outlets, political messaging, and behind-the-scenes channels. This kind of restrained posture allows the West to maintain a façade of stability without toppling the political structure in Kiev. But a critical question remains: will the military join the protests? According to foreign media reports, commanders have been instructed to stay away. Nevertheless, a few servicemen have already been seen at the rallies. If their numbers grow, so too will the risks. Facing the threat of reduced military and financial support, Zelensky has backed down – at least for now. He submitted a new bill to the Rada that would restore the powers of NABU and SAPO. A vote is scheduled for July 31. It seems Europe has forced Zelensky to reverse course. If the law passes, the protesters may claim a symbolic victory. But it's far from over. Zelensky's team could still water down the bill or kick it into the long grass – and they have every reason to try. The main one: the looming loss of centralized control over the levers of power. Several red flags are already visible: The security services, who carried out raids on NABU, may now start questioning Zelensky's authority and the legitimacy of his directives. The Rada, already shaken by the original bill, could fracture further – eroding Zelensky's grip on the legislature. NABU itself, if empowered again, may go after members of Zelensky's inner circle – putting pressure on the business elite that had come to feel safe under his protection. In the end, Zelensky's show of resolve may have backed him into a corner. He's losing political capital at home. And while his government remains intact for now, the erosion of his authority has begun. This may only be the beginning.
