at least 13 people killed Tuesday, according to an association of doctors

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The previous report from the riots which broke out on Tuesday against the government’s plan for new taxes reported five deaths and 31 injured. One of the figures of the anti-government protest movement in the country called for “peaceful marches” on Thursday.

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A woman takes a photo of the wreckage of a car set on fire by protesters, in the center of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, June 26, 2024 (LUIS TATO / AFP)

Heavy toll, but still provisional. At least 13 people were killed on Tuesday June 25 in Kenya during a day of anti-government protests which turned into chaos, the president of the country’s main professional association of doctors told AFP on Wednesday. “We have never seen before, we saw violence in 2007 following the elections, but never this level of violence against unarmed people”, said Kenya Medical Association president Simon Kigondu. The previous report reported five deaths and 31 injured.

Kenya woke up in a state of shock on Wednesday following the violence, which notably saw demonstrators storm Parliament, a first in the history of the independent country since 1963. Journalist and activist Hanifa Adan, a figures of the anti-government protest movement in the country, called for “walk peacefully” THURSDAY. “All sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya. You can’t kill us all”she wrote on the social network

The rallies, mainly led by young people, began peacefully last week, with thousands of demonstrators marching in Nairobi and other cities across the country to protest against new taxes planned in the 2024-2025 budget, currently being debated in Parliament. On Tuesday, while opponents demonstrated for the third time in eight days, tension suddenly rose in the afternoon in Nairobi. According to NGOs, including the Kenyan branch of Amnesty International, the police fired live ammunition to try to contain the crowd, which forced security barriers to enter the Parliament grounds. Buildings were ransacked and partially burned.

A few hours later, the government announced deploying the army to support the police in the face of this “security emergency” and to these “destruction and intrusion into crucial infrastructure”. In the evening, President Ruto displayed his firmness by pledging to firmly suppress the “violence and anarchy”by promising in particular to make these payments “criminals posing as peaceful protesters” which “reign terror against the people, their elected representatives and institutions”.


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