Latest news with #Kenyans
France 24
16 hours ago
- Politics
- France 24
Iran: escalation to ceasefire, ‘Daddy Trump', Bezos's Wedding Carnival.
So-called 'silent assassins', the B2 Spirit Bombers flew 18 hours from Missouri into Iranian airspace, to fire 14 of the world's most powerful bombs at the main enrichment site at Fordow and on Natanz. The overall attack involved 125 fighter jets, several strategic feints, and submarine fire too. Not a shot was fired in response. Complete and utter obliteration claimed President Trump. Iran hit back later at the US, with ballistic missiles targeting the American base at Qatar, though it telegraphed in advance. 24 hours later a ceasefire was agreed between Iran and Israel. Holding so far, after a questionable start, and Presidential outrage. It's been a week that's seen another high profile message leak on the Signal App. This time a private thank you note, a 'Dear Donald' sent by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, that said, 'Congratulations for your decisive actions in Iran, doing what no-one else dared and flying into another big success at The Hague, it was not easy, but we've got them all signed onto five per cent. Europe is going to pay in a BIG (capital letters) way, and it will be your win.' The leaker: President Trump of course, who published it on Truth Social ahead of the NATO summit. No harm done, said Rutte, the so-called Trump whisperer, who later went on to allude to him as Daddy. It's been a week that's seen thousands of Kenyans protesting against police brutality and government corruption in cities across the country. Security forces barricaded President William Rutto's office, as police fired water canon, tear gas, and reportedly live fire too, as they clashed with demonstrators in Nairobi. At least 16 people were killed. The protests marked a year since a grassroots movement first took to the streets of the capital, against the President's planned tax law, which spread nationwide after the deaths and disappearances of some of the demonstrators.
Bloomberg
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
East African Countries Face Broad Crackdown on Political Dissent
When thousands of young Kenyans converged across the nation this week to mark a year since scores of them were killed in protests, police were ready and opened fire, leaving at least 16 dead. It was the latest sign of a broad crackdown on dissent across East Africa, where activists, protesters and opposition politicians from Tanzania to Uganda have been arrested, abducted, tortured or even killed to silence criticism.
TimesLIVE
a day ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Kenyan minister accuses protesters of coup attempt after deadly demonstrations
Kenya's interior minister Kipchumba Murkomen accused protesters on Thursday of attempting to overthrow the government during a day of deadly demonstrations, remarks protest leaders said were an attempt to deflect attention from their demands. Murkomen said at least 10 people had been killed in unrest the day before when youth-led demonstrations were followed by looting and arson in Nairobi and other cities. The rights group Amnesty Kenya said at least 16 people were killed, all by gunshots, which it said were suspected to have been fired by police. Smoke was billowing from at least 10 torched buildings on Thursday in central Nairobi, where shopkeepers were cleaning up the charred wreckage of the overnight unrest. Thousands of Kenyans participated in Wednesday's demonstrations, initially called to mark the anniversary of anti-government protests last year, and amplified by public anger over the death this month of a blogger in police custody.
NBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- NBC News
Death toll from Kenya's anti-government protests rises to 16
NAIROBI, Kenya — The number of Kenyans who died during Wednesday's nationwide protests over police brutality and bad governance has doubled to 16, according to the state-funded human rights commission. Property was also destroyed in the protests that attracted thousands of frustrated young Kenyans. At least two police stations were razed down by angry protesters. Kenyans demonstrated Wednesday in 23 of 47 counties across the country, calling for an end to police brutality and better governance. Thousands chanted anti-government slogans, and the protests morphed into calls for President William Ruto to resign. Many protesters were enraged by the recent death of a blogger in custody and the shooting of a civilian during protests over the blogger's death. The country's interior minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, on Thursday assessed damage to businesses in the capital, Nairobi, where goods were stolen from multiple stores. He said police would follow up with owners whose CCTV cameras captured the looters to ensure swift arrests. At least two families have identified their deceased kin at the Nairobi mortuary. One relative, Fatma Opango, told local media that her 17-year-old nephew was gunned down in the Rongai area in the outskirts of Nairobi. 'I came across his photo in a group online and I started searching for him at the hospitals hoping he had survived,' she told journalists at the mortuary. Murkomen on Thursday defended the conduct of police officers during the protests, saying the 'government has your back.' 'There is no police officer who committed any excess yesterday, they foiled a coup and they deserve our defense,' Murkomen said, adding that police 'don't carry guns as toys.' In downtown Nairobi, businesspeople counted their losses after looters raided their shops and set some shops on fire. In one of the buildings where smoke was still billowing on Thursday morning, a phone seller told journalists that she lost stock worth 800,000 Kenya shillings ($6,000). Kenyans mobilized Wednesday's protests on social media platforms to mark the one-year anniversary of huge anti-tax protests, when demonstrators stormed parliament and at least 60 people were killed. Twenty others are still missing. Parliament and the president's office were on Wednesday barricaded with razor wire and protesters were unable to use the roads leading to the two establishments.
ARN News Center
a day ago
- Politics
- ARN News Center
16 deaths in Kenya protests, most killed by police, Amnesty Kenya says
Sixteen people died during nationwide anti-government protests in Kenya on Wednesday, most of them killed by police, the head of Amnesty Kenya said, a year after deadly demonstrations against a tax bill culminated in the storming of parliament. Thousands of Kenyans took to the streets to commemorate last year's demonstrations, in which more than 60 people died, with police firing tear gas and water cannons to disperse them in the capital Nairobi, according to local media and a Reuters witness. Some protesters clashed with police, and 16 people were "verified dead as of 8:30", Amnesty Kenya's executive director Irungu Houghton told Reuters, adding that the figures were verified by the global rights watchdog and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR). "Most were killed by police," Houghton said, adding that at least five of the victims had been shot dead. The government-funded KNCHR earlier said eight deaths had been reported across the country, all "allegedly from gunshot wounds". "Over 400 casualties have been reported, including demonstrators, police officers and journalists," KNCHR said in a statement shared on its official X account. The watchdog noted heavy police deployment and "allegations of excessive use of force, including rubber bullets, live ammunition and water cannons, resulting in numerous injuries". Kenyan police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga declined to comment on the statements by Amnesty Kenya or KNCHR. State-funded body Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) said in a statement at least 61 people were arrested during the protests. An official at the capital's main Kenyatta National Hospital said the facility had received dozens of wounded people. A total of "107 admitted, most with gunshot injuries," the source said, referring to rubber bullets and live rounds. He added that no deaths had been reported at KNH. National electricity provider Kenya Power said one of its security guards was shot dead while patrolling its headquarters in Nairobi. Large crowds were seen earlier heading in the direction of State House, the president's official residence, in scenes broadcast by Kenyan channel NTV before it and another broadcaster KTN were pulled off the air after defying an order to stop live broadcasts of the demonstrations. Both channels resumed broadcasts later on Wednesday after a court in Nairobi suspended the order issued by the Communications Authority of Kenya. ANGER AGAINST POLICE Isolated clashes were reported in the port city of Mombasa, according to NTV, with protests also in the towns of Kitengela, Kisii, Matuu and Nyeri. Although last year's protests faded after President William Ruto withdrew proposed tax hikes, public anger has remained over the use of excessive force by security agencies, with fresh demonstrations this month over the death of a blogger in police custody. Six people, including three police officers, were charged with murder on Tuesday over the killing of 31-year-old blogger and teacher, Albert Ojwang. All have pleaded not guilty. Ojwang's death has become a lightning rod for Kenyans still mourning those who perished at last year's demonstrations, blamed on security forces, against a backdrop of dozens of unexplained disappearances. "We are fighting for the rights of our fellow youths and Kenyans and the people who died since June 25... we want justice," Lumumba Harmony, a protester, told Reuters in Nairobi. The unprecedented scenes on June 25, 2024, showing police firing at protesters as they broke through barriers to enter parliament, created the biggest crisis of Ruto's presidency and sparked alarm among Kenya's international allies.
