Latest news with #FaithOdhiambo
Irish Times
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Clashes between Kenyan police and anti-government protesters leave 16 dead, 400 injured
At least 16 people have been killed and 400 injured in Kenya as a nationwide demonstration to honour those killed during last year's antigovernment protests turned chaotic, with police clashing with protesters in different parts of the country. A joint statement from groups supporting the protests said 83 people were seriously injured and at least eight people were being treated for gunshot wounds. Most of the 16 dead were killed by police, the local branch of global rights group Amnesty International said. 'We pray for our nation, dialogue and a way forward from the political impasse facing Kenya,' said the statement from the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the Police Reforms Working Group and the Kenya Medical Association. READ MORE Thousands of Kenyans took to the streets early on Wednesday to pay tribute to more than 60 people who died when police opened fire on a crowd that tried to storm parliament while MPs inside passed legislation to raise taxes. 'We face an unfortunate paradox as a country where more lives are being lost as the people seek justice for the lives already lost,' the LSK's president, Faith Odhiambo, said on X. 'Our hearts break for all the victims of the continued trend of police brutality and excesses.' In Nairobi, police barricaded major roads a few kilometres from the central business district and turned away buses and minibuses farther away from the city centre. They also blocked off access to key buildings, including the parliament and the official residence of the president, William Ruto, with razor wire. In the city centre, where many businesses were closed, thousands gathered for the march, waving Kenyan flags and placards with images of victims of last year's protests. Others lit street fires and chanted slogans against Ruto. Later violence ensued, with police firing tear gas and water cannons and hitting protesters with batons, while protesters threw stones and other objects at them. A source at Kenyatta national hospital in Nairobi told Reuters the facility had received 56 people, most of them with injuries from rubber bullets. The planned marches also developed into clashes between civilians and police in the cities of Mombasa, Nakuru and Kisumu and other parts of the country. Protesters torched parts of court buildings in Kikuyu town in Kiambu county. The communications authority of Kenya ordered TV and radio stations to stop live coverage of the protests, threatening those that failed to follow the directive with regulatory action. NTV and KTN, two leading TV stations, were later taken off air. Lawmakers left parliament buildings in Nairobi, and protests continued to intensify in the city centre. Elsewhere, crowds of people marched along major roads towards the capital. Outrage has been growing in Kenya over the past few years due to corruption, unemployment, government excesses and rising living costs. Wednesday's protests come against a backdrop of demonstrations last year prompted by proposed tax increases, in which dozens of people died and many more disappeared. The street protests reduced over time, but killings, arrests and disappearances continued, triggering more anger towards the authorities. Two incidents this month – the death of the teacher Albert Ojwang in police custody after reportedly criticising a senior police official on social media, and the police shooting of the vendor Boniface Kariuki at close range during a protest over Ojwang's death – have further inflamed public anger. Stephanie Marie, a young protester in Nairobi, said she was at Wednesday's march because of Ojwang. 'It could be my brother, it could be my cousin, it could be anyone,' she said. 'These are just normal boys, doing normal things.' She called for leaders to heed what the they were saying: 'The people voted. You're here for the people. You're working for the people ... We just want you to listen to the people. That's it.' Another young protester in Nairobi, Innocent, was commemorating the loss of his friend in last year's protests. He said he'd been exposed to a lot of tear gas from police on Wednesday but he was relentless. 'The youth are unstoppable,' he said. 'Because we've come to fight for our rights.' He added: 'We don't want bad leadership'. – The Guardian
The Guardian
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
At least eight people dead and 400 injured in Kenyan protests
At least eight people have been killed and 400 injured in Kenya as a nationwide demonstration to honour those killed during last year's anti-government protests turned chaotic, with police clashing with protesters in different parts of the country. A joint statement from groups supporting the protests said 83 people were seriously injured and at least eight people were being treated for gunshot wounds. 'We pray for our nation, dialogue and a way forward from the political impasse facing Kenya,' said the statement from the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the Police Reforms Working Group and the Kenya Medical Association. Thousands of Kenyans took to the streets early on Wednesday to pay tribute to more than 60 people who died when police opened fire on a crowd that tried to storm parliament while MPs inside passed legislation to raise taxes. 'We face an unfortunate paradox as a country where more lives are being lost as the people seek justice for the lives already lost,' LSK president Faith Odhiambo said on X. 'Our hearts break for all the victims of the continued trend of police brutality and excesses.' In Nairobi, police barricaded major roads a few kilometres from the central business district and turned away buses and minibuses farther away from the city centre. They also blocked off access to key buildings, including the parliament and the official residence of president William Ruto, with razor wire. Thousands gathered in the city centre, where many businesses were closed, for the march, waving Kenyan flags and placards with images of victims of last year's protests. Others lit street fires and chanted slogans against Ruto. Later battles ensued, with police firing tear gas and water cannons and hitting protesters with batons, while protesters threw stones and other objects at them. A source at Nairobi's Kenyatta national hospital told Reuters the facility had received 56 people, most of them with injuries from rubber bullets. The planned marches also developed into clashes between civilians and police in the cities of Mombasa, Nakuru and Kisumu and other parts of the country. Protestors torched parts of court buildings in Kikuyu town in Kiambu county. The communications authority of Kenya ordered TV and radio stations to stop live coverage of the protests, threatening those that failed to follow the directive with regulatory action. NTV and KTN, two leading TV stations, were later taken off air. Lawmakers left parliament buildings in Nairobi, and protests continued to intensify in the city centre. Elsewhere, throngs of people marched along major roads towards the capital. Outrage has been growing in Kenya over the past few years due to corruption, unemployment, government excesses and rising living costs. Wednesday's protests come against a backdrop of demonstrations last year, prompted by proposed tax increases, in which dozens of people died and many more disappeared. The street protests reduced over time, but killings, arrests, disappearances continued, triggering more anger towards the authorities. Two incidents this month – the death of teacher Albert Ojwang in police custody after reportedly criticising a senior police official on social media, and the police shooting of vendor Boniface Kariuki at close range during a protest over Ojwang's death – have further inflamed public anger. Stephanie Marie, a young protester in Nairobi, said she was at Wednesday's march because of Ojwang. 'It could be my brother, it could be my cousin, it could be anyone,' she said. 'These are just normal boys, doing normal things.' She called for leaders to heed what the they were saying: 'The people voted. You're here for the people. You're working for the people ... We just want you to listen to the people. That's it.' Another young protester in Nairobi, Innocent, was commemorating the loss of his friend in last year's protests. He said he'd been exposed to a lot of teargas from police on Wednesday but he was relentless. 'The youth are unstoppable,' he said. 'Because we've come to fight for our rights.' He added: 'We don't want bad leadership'.
Time of India
01-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Kenyan rights groups condemn arrest of protest site developer
Representative Image (AI-generated) Kenyan rights groups have condemned the arrest of a software developer who built a platform opposing a contentious finance bill, warning that it reflected an intensifying crackdown on dissent. The East African country has been cracking down on critics of the government since massive protests last June against tax rises and corruption. Security forces are accused by rights groups of killing at least 60 people during the protests and abducting dozens more in the aftermath. On May 19, developer Rose Njeri shared a link to her website on X, saying it was built to oppose a new finance bill, which she warned would raise living costs and breach privacy rights. She was arrested on Friday afternoon, triggering a storm of online outrage. She remained in police custody in Nairobi on Sunday. "All efforts to secure her release on police bail have so far been frustrated by the officers in charge who are yet to cede to requests by counsel to release her," said Faith Odhiambo, head of the main lawyers' association (LSK), said on X on Saturday. Rights group Vocal Africa said on X that Njeri's arrest was "a blatant attack on digital rights, freedom of expression and civic engagement". President William Ruto said last month that all people abducted following the June-July anti-government protests had been "returned to their families". He promised it would not happen again.
