Latest news with #KipchumbaMurkomen
Al Jazeera
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Kenyan minister caught urging police to shoot protesters
Kenyan minister caught urging police to shoot protesters NewsFeed enya's Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen has been caught on video appearing to authorise police to shoot protesters. Murkomen made the comments after at least 16 people were killed during protests over police brutality on Wednesday. Video Duration 00 minutes 39 seconds 00:39 Video Duration 01 minutes 49 seconds 01:49 Video Duration 00 minutes 39 seconds 00:39 Video Duration 02 minutes 43 seconds 02:43 Video Duration 02 minutes 39 seconds 02:39 Video Duration 02 minutes 20 seconds 02:20 Video Duration 02 minutes 33 seconds 02:33
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.
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Kenya government slams deadly unrest as ‘terrorism disguised as dissent'
NAIROBI, June 27 — Kenya's under-fire government on Thursday condemned protests across the country during which at least 16 people were killed and thousands of businesses ruined as 'terrorism disguised as dissent'. The marches on Wednesday were called to mark the one-year anniversary of anti-tax demonstrations that peaked when a huge crowd stormed parliament and dozens were killed by security forces. The rallies began peacefully but descended into chaos as young men held running battles with police, lit fires and ripped up pavements to use as projectiles. 'What unfolded yesterday was not a protest. It was terrorism disguised as dissent,' Kipchumba Murkomen, interior cabinet secretary, said in a televised speech. 'We condemn the criminal anarchists who in the name of peaceful demonstrations unleashed a wave of violence, looting, sexual assault and destruction upon our people,' he said, calling events an 'attempted coup'. The United Nations meanwhile deplored the violence and called for calm and restraint. 'We are deeply concerned by reports of several deaths of protesters and many more injuries — of protesters and police officers — during demonstrations in Kenya on Wednesday,' UN human rights office spokeswoman Elizabeth Throssell said in a statement. 'We are concerned by reports that some protesters had gunshot wounds,' Throssell added. 'Under international human rights law, lethal force by law enforcement officers, such as firearms, should only be used when strictly necessary.' In Nairobi's business district, the epicentre of the unrest, AFP journalists found entire shopping centres and thousands of businesses destroyed, many still smouldering. At least two banks had been broken into, while businesses, ranging from supermarkets to small electronics and clothing stores, were reduced to ashes or ransacked by looters. 'When we came we found the whole premise burnt down,' said Raphael Omondi, 36, owner of a print shop, adding that he had lost machines worth US$150,000 (RM634,000). 'There were guys stealing, and after stealing they set the whole premises on fire... If this is what protest is, it is not worth it.' 'They looted everything... I do not know where to start,' said Maureen Chepkemoi, 32, owner of a perfume store. 'To protest is not bad but why are you coming to protest inside my shop? It is wicked,' she added. Several business owners told AFP that looting had started in the afternoon after the government ordered TV and radio stations to stop broadcasting live images of the protests. 'My everything' Amnesty International's Kenya director Irungu Houghton said the death toll had risen to 16. Rights group Vocal Africa, which was documenting the deaths and helping affected families at a Nairobi morgue, said at least four bodies had been brought there so far. 'All of them had signs of gunshots, so we suspect they all died of gunshot wounds,' its head Hussein Khalid told AFP. 'We condemn this excessive use of force,' he said. 'We believe that the police could have handled themselves with restraint.' 'You come out to protest police killings, and they kill even more.' One of those at the morgue was Winifred Mwangi, whose husband was killed during the demonstrations and who fainted as she tried to speak about the father of her two girls. 'He was my everything,' she said, adding she did not know what she would do without her husband. A coalition of rights groups earlier said at least 400 people were wounded, with 83 in serious condition in hospital. It recorded protests in 23 counties around Kenya. Emergency responders reported multiple gunshot wounds and there were unconfirmed local media reports that police had opened fire on protesters, particularly in towns outside the capital. President William Ruto, who came to power in 2022 promising rapid economic progress, faces deep resentment. Many are disillusioned by continued economic stagnation, corruption and high taxes, as well as police brutality after a teacher was killed in custody earlier this month. — AFP
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Are East African governments uniting to silence dissent?
Kenya has been hit by a recent wave of repression, tarnishing its reputation as a beacon of democracy in East Africa. Critics fear that it is sliding down the path of her neighbours - Uganda and Tanzania, both of which are notorious for cracking down on dissent. Kenya's laws are widely regarded as being more progressive - particularly in protecting fundamental freedoms like the right to protest. But Kenya has witnessed an increasing crackdown on protests - the latest example being the killing of at least 10 people in nationwide demonstrations against President William Ruto's government while it attempted to ban live TV and radio coverage of the protests. "Rogue Regime" - declared the headline of Kenya's respected Standard newspaper as it pointed out that young people had flooded the streets in defiant remembrance of those gunned down a year ago in mass anti-tax demonstrations but "Instead of a listening ear they were met with razor wire, armoured trucks and the cold grip of repression". But as far as Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen is concerned, the police showed "remarkable restraint" as they foiled an "attempted coup". "We condemn the criminal anarchists who in the name of peaceful demonstrations unleashed a wave of violence, looting, sexual assault and destruction upon our people," he said, accusing the protesters of attacking police stations and injuring 300 officers. However, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) condemned the police for their handling of the protest. "The unnecessary aggression and brute force that culminated in the senseless loss of life and senseless destruction of property have no place in a free democratic society," it said. The crackdown came just weeks after a 31-year-old blogger and teacher, Albert Ojwang, died in police custody. He was arrested after being accused of defaming a senior police officer - and died in detention of assault wounds, an autopsy found. His death triggered a small protest in the capital, Nairobi, which police clamped down on and a street vendor, who was caught in the crossfire - shot at close-range, is fighting for his life in hospital. The LSK denounced his shooting as unbefitting for "any sane democracy". Its comment brought into sharp focus the fact that Kenya risks losing its status as a democracy that many Tanzanians and Ugandans envied – and drew inspiration from. Tanzanian political analyst Nicodemus Minde said there had long been an "appreciation" among Tanzanians of the ability of Kenyans to "speak truth to power". It was a view shared by Tanzania's main opposition leader Tundu Lissu who told the BBC last year that "We have not pressed hard enough for democratic reform". "What Kenya did to build its democratic space is something we need to do," he said. Having miraculously survived an assassination attempt after being shot 16 times in 2017, Lissu has become a symbol of state repression in Tanzania. He is currently in detention, charged with treason for rallying his supporters under the slogan "No reform; no elections". The government saw this as an attempt by Lissu to launch a rebellion – and he risks being sentenced to death if convicted. The 57-year-old opposition leader sees his detention as an attempt by the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party – which has been in power since independence in 1961– to clear its path to victory in presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for October. This perception has been strengthened by the fact that his Chadema party has been barred from contesting the poll after it refused to sign an electoral code of conduct that it believed would undermine its right to campaign freely. The opposition in Uganda sees itself in a similar situation, pointing out that President Yoweri Museveni has been in power for almost 40 years, and – along with his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who heads the army – is cracking down on political rivals in the build-up to elections in early 2026. Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye has been in detention since November, with the government wanting to try him for treason in a military court after accusing him of plotting to overthrow the government – a charge he denies. Although Kenya has an independent judiciary and holds regular elections that lead to power changing hands, Martha Karua – one of the country's most respected human rights lawyers, a former justice minister and the leader of a small opposition party – believes that democracy is under threat in all three East African states. "We are staring at a regional crisis – not at an economic crisis, not a crisis of trade, but of democracy itself," she said at a recent press conference. Activists like her are alarmed by the fact that more than 80 Kenyans have been abducted in the past year by people who never identified themselves, raising fears that this was the government's latest strategy to crush dissent after the protests over moves to increase taxes amidst a cost-of-living crisis. There is also mounting evidence that Kenya is no longer a safe haven for Ugandans and Tanzanians, with security agencies from the three states apparently colluding to crack down on the opposition. Besigye was in Nairobi for a book launch in November, when he vanished - only to surface four days later in a military court in Uganda. The government in Uganda accused him of trying to negotiate an arms deal in Kenya to launch a rebellion back home and said he had been arrested in a cross-border operation carried out with the knowledge of Kenya's intelligence services. Kenya's government initially denied this, saying it was unaware of the Ugandan operation on its soil, although Kenya's foreign minister recently told local media that "there were certain issues" about Besigye's visit in Kenya and "he had to go". He did not elaborate. About two months after Besigye's ordeal, exiled Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai said she was abducted by armed men in Nairobi who then, luckily for her, released her several hours later. Ms Tsehai said she was manhandled and choked by four assailants who forced her into a vehicle. "I am sure that the reason for the abduction was to get access to my social media and [because of] the whistleblowing job that I do," she said, as her abductors kept asking how to unlock her phone. Ms Tsehai is a staunch critic of Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan, and has accused her government of bringing "tyranny back" to the country, despite promising reforms when she took office in 2021 following the death of her authoritarian predecessor, John Magufuli. Karua said that despite the "backsliding" of democracy and human rights in East Africa, there was little concern about this internationally, with the African Union "silent", the United Nations offering "rhetoric - not redress", while the US - "a self-declared champion of liberty" - was facing its "own issues of liberty" under the administration of President Donald Trump. Tanzania deported Karua and two Kenyan activists when they flew into the country in May to show solidarity with Lissu, while Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan lawyer Agather Atuhaire were detained after being allowed to enter. Following their release, both accused the Tanzanian police of sexually abusing them. Tanzania's police denied the accusation, however amidst the outcry over the detention and deportation of foreign activists, President Samia issued a stark warning. "If they have been contained in their country, let them not come here to meddle. Let's not give them a chance. They have already created chaos in their own country," she said. To the dismay of activists, Kenya's President Ruto failed to condemn the alleged abuse and instead, apologised to the Tanzanian government. "To our neighbours from Tanzania, if we have wronged you in any way, forgive us," he said. "If there is anything that Kenyans have done that is not right, we want to apologise." Macharia Munene, a Kenyan professor in international relations, told the BBC that Ruto's apology stemmed from his "perceived failure to keep people [Kenyans] in check". He added that the Tanzanian government had become "jittery" of the potential influence of Kenyan activists on the October elections, with Ruto's government under pressure to "contain troublemakers". For Kenyan activists the worsening repression in the three states has merely strengthened their resolve to fight back. Mr Mwangi, one of Kenya's most prominent human rights campaigners, summed it up by saying: "If these people are united in oppressing their citizens, then we must be united in fighting to remove them from power." 'We live in fear' - forced expulsions taint Kenya's safe haven image BBC identifies security forces who shot Kenya anti-tax protesters Could this be the end of the road for Tanzania's great survivor, Tundu Lissu? Why Kenya's president has so many nicknames Uganda's Yoweri Museveni: How an ex-rebel has stayed in power for 35 year Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Focus on Africa This Is Africa
Scoop
2 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
UN Calls For Restraint After Deadly Kenya Protests
26 June 2025 At least 400 people were injured, including police officers, according to media reports. The official death toll has not been confirmed, with estimates ranging from eight to 16. The demonstrations marked the anniversary of last year's anti-tax protests, when 60 people were reportedly killed and dozens abducted by police. This year, anger intensified following the death of blogger Albert Ojwan, 31, who died in police custody earlier this month. The demonstrators reportedly targeted government and police offices, chanted for the occupation of the presidential residence and attacked, looted and burned shops and businesses in Nairobi. At a press conference, Kenyan Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen accused protestors of attempting to unconstitutionally enact "regime change." He also said nine police stations were attacked, dozens of vehicles destroyed, and five guns were stolen. UN Human Rights response On Thursday, as smoke still rose from torched buildings in Nairobi, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, released a statement expressing concern. Alarmed by reports that protesters had been wounded or killed by gunfire, OHCHR stressed that under international human rights law, law enforcement should only use lethal force when strictly necessary to protect life or prevent serious injury from an imminent threat. The office welcomed the announcement that Kenya's Independent Policing Oversight Authority will investigate the incidents and underlined the need for "prompt, thorough, independent and transparent investigations to bring those responsible to justice" and prevent recurrence. OHCHR also called for calm and restraint. UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric echoed these concerns at the daily press briefing in New York, saying: "We are obviously concerned about the violence we have seen in Kenya. We are closely monitoring the situation. We are very saddened by the loss of life." He also reiterated concerns over the reported gunshot wounds and welcomed plans for oversight investigations.
