At protests across Kenya organized by youth against police brutality and poor governance, at least eight people were killed and more than 80 hospitalized on Wednesday due to gunshot wounds and beatings, according to human rights groups.
The state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reported demonstrations nationwide, with more than 400 people injured and over 60 arrested during protests that spread to 23 out of 47 counties – reports Danas.
The protests marked the first anniversary of anti-tax demonstrations in which 60 people were killed and 20 went missing.
The Parliament and the presidential office in Kenya’s capital Nairobi were barricaded with barbed wire, and police blocked all access roads.
Thousands of protesters clashed with police who fired tear gas, opened fire, and beat people.
The demonstrations, which spread to major cities including Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, and Nyahururu, escalated into calls for the president’s resignation over poor leadership.
During last year’s protests, demonstrators stormed Parliament where a law increasing taxes was passed, setting part of the building on fire while lawmakers fled. Bodies lay in the streets, and medics and watchdogs said police had opened fire. The army was deployed.
Youth in Kenya remain frustrated with the government over corruption, rising cost of living, and police brutality, as well as the recent death of a blogger in custody. A close-range shooting of a civilian during recent protests has further fueled anger.
President William Ruto on Wednesday called on demonstrators who were storming his office in Nairobi not to “destroy the country.”
Young Kenyans used social media to organize protests to honor those killed last year. Government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura said on Monday there would be no protests and that Wednesday would be a “normal working day,” but that did not happen.
However, businesses in Nairobi remained closed on Wednesday, and police restricted vehicle movement in the central business district.
Hundreds of Kenyans were already in the streets early in the morning, chanting anti-government slogans as police fired tear gas at them.
An Associated Press journalist witnessed one protester being shot by police and another being struck in the head by riot officers, after which medics took him away by ambulance.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja stated on Tuesday that unauthorized persons would not be allowed entry into protected zones such as Parliament and other government buildings.
Protester Rose Murugi said, “Police brutality must stop and Ruto must go.”
Another protester, Derick Mwangi (25), said, “We are tired, even though we’re still young.”
“People are being kidnapped, people are being killed,” he said.
The headline of the major newspaper “The Standard” on Wednesday read “A luta Continua,” Portuguese for “The struggle continues,” a slogan used by rebels during Mozambique’s war for independence from colonial rule.
During the protests, the Communications Authority banned live broadcasts and shut down some free TV signals, sparking condemnation from human rights groups.
Political analyst Herman Manyora warned that demonstrators remain dissatisfied because “the government has been unyielding and has only strengthened the youth’s resolve to continue fighting.”
During last year’s protests, President Ruto dissolved the government accused of incompetence and corruption, but retained most of his former ministers in the new administration.
The finance law proposing high taxes, passed by parliament, was repealed but new taxes were later introduced through amendments to the same law.
Last year, President Ruto appointed opposition party members to government and in March signed a political pact with his electoral rival, opposition leader Raila Odinga, but the situation has not improved.
