(Nairobi) Nine people were killed and more than 300 arrested during anti-government protests on Wednesday against new taxes in Kenya banned by authorities, according to a human rights commission and an official source.
These rallies organized in several cities of the country were punctuated by looting and clashes between demonstrators and police, the former throwing stones, the latter responding with tear gas and live ammunition.
Nine people were killed during this new day of mobilization of the opposition, according to the Kenyan National Commission for Human Rights (KNCHR), an independent organization, assuring AFP based on a count of the police .
The Commission called for investigations into police brutality and looting, warning that the country was “on the brink of anarchy”.
According to the KNCHR, four people were killed in Mlolongo, a suburb of Nairobi, and five others in different towns in Kenya, and many other people and law enforcement personnel were injured.
In a statement, the KNCHR “strongly condemns the excessive force used by the police when arresting protesters. While the maintenance of law and order is crucial, it must never come at the expense of human rights and the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals”.
A first report from the police on Wednesday reported six people shot dead by the police.
“312 people who directly or indirectly planned, orchestrated or financed the violent demonstrations and acts of lawlessness (on Wednesday), including a deputy, have been arrested and will be prosecuted for various criminal offences”, declared for his part the minister of the Interior Kithure Kindiki, vilifying “hooliganism” and “anarchy”.
“The search for other people responsible (for this violence) is ongoing,” he added.
End of “impunity”
At the origin of the anti-government mobilization, veteran Kenyan opposition, Raila Odinga, several times unsuccessful candidate in the presidential election, accused the police on Wednesday of having “shot, injured and killed demonstrators”, especially in Nairobi.
On Wednesday, the Minister of the Interior castigated “generalized violence” and “looting”, while assuring that “this culture of impunity will come to an end”.
In Nairobi’s Kangemi slum, 53 children were hospitalized on Wednesday, some unconscious, after tear gas was fired near their classrooms.
These incidents took place a few days after other deadly demonstrations against the government of President William Ruto in several cities of the country.
At least six people were killed last Friday during these rallies, according to the Interior Ministry. NGOs then denounced violent police repression.
At the beginning of July, President Ruto promulgated a finance law which introduces a series of new taxes, despite criticism from the opposition and the population of this country affected by high inflation.
Raila Odinga’s Azimio alliance intends to organize weekly demonstrations against government policy.
Mr. Odinga was defeated by William Ruto in the August 2022 presidential election, but still disputes the results, believing that the victory was “stolen” from him.