3 days ago
10 dead, dozens arrested in more anti-government protests in Kenya
On Monday, Kenyan counter-protesters armed with clubs and hired by business owners to guard their companies from looters stand watch during anti-government protests on Saba Saba day (or Seven-Seven in Swahili language) in Nairobi. Photo By Daniel Irungu/EPA
July 7 (UPI) -- At least 10 people were shot dead and 29 injured in Kenya as anti-government protests erupted after restarting early last month.
Two bodies initially were taken to Eagle Nursing Home in Kangemi, on the outskirts of the capital city of Nairobi, after suffering apparent gunshot wounds. Hundreds of protestors gathered outside the hospital to demand the bodies, local medic Dr. Aron Sikuku told the BBC.
"Police operated in plainclothes and unmarked vehicles" on Monday and collaborated with "armed criminal gangs in Nairobi, Kajiado, Nakuru, Kiambu, and Eldoret," according to the state-run Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KHRC) in a scathing report on excessive police force.
Kenyan police officials have denied such previous accusations.
On Sunday, Kenyan security agencies were "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," Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen posted on X earlier that day.
Meanwhile, government officials have yet to confirm Monday's reported fatalities.
The demonstrations marked the 35th anniversary of Kenya's Saba Saba protests, meaning "seven-seven," which launched in 1990 to push for multiparty democracy in the African nation.
Reports indicate that hundreds of early morning commuters and overnight travelers were stranded in Nairobi, with few vehicles allowed to enter the city. Also, the road to key government sites -- such as Kenya's parliament building and the presidential residence -- were barricaded with razor wire.
According to the Nation, a leading Kenyan newspaper, the nationwide demonstrations spread to at least 17 of Kenya's 47 counties.
Some school officials advised students to remain home over fears of violence.
Tear gas and water cannons were used by authorities as clashes broke out and fires lit in parts of Nairobi in attempts to breach police barricades.
Hundreds were stranded by midmorning inside and outside the center of the city, with major roads closed and many commuters unable to afford to pay extra money for transit to their destination.
"We want the government to engage in a dialogue with Gen Zs so all this can come to an end," Humphrey Gumbishi, a bus driver, told the BBC. He said they started traveling at 8:30 p.m. local time Sunday night only to find police blocks.
The ongoing demonstrations, largely led by Gen-Z participants, have demanded greater accountability, good governance and justice for victims of police brutality.
The continued wave of deadly anti-government protests started last year against President William Ruto's unpopular tax policies amid rising everyday costs as scores of Kenyans were killed at the time after storming parliament in June 2024.
At least 19 citizens were killed a few weeks ago on June 25 as thousands of businesses were looted and destroyed in one day as violent activity gripped the country and government officials banned live TV coverage in attempts to quell violence.
In early June, protests again erupted, spurred by the questionable death in police custody of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang.
On Sunday, the Kenyan Human Rights Commission claimed "hired goons" allegedly "sent by the state to silence dissent" stormed the NGO's office and "violently" disrupted a press conference by Kenyan mothers "calling for an end to arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings targeting protesters ahead of Saba Saba demonstrations."
Ex-Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga canceled a scheduled appearance in Nairobi, saying "the roadblocks all over town which made it difficult for people to make it to Kamukunji" meant he did not "join Kenyans in commemorating this important day."
Odinga was arrested last year after Saba Saba but then threw his support to Ruto's government.
Ruto was declared the winner with just over 50% of the vote versus Odinga's 48.8% in the African nation's August 2022 presidential election in which the opposition party leader suggested was not a free or fair vote.
On Monday, he blasted what he described as Kenya's "rogue police force that shoots people with impunity, a force inherited from the colonialists," and called for a national dialogue on reforming Kenyan police agencies.
