Kenya, July 16 – Kenyan anti-government protesters took to the streets again Tuesday after a week break. One person was killed, and several others were shot and hurt.
The video below shows the moment police shot K24 journalist Catherine Wanjeri in Nakuru.
Gen Z demand justice
The young protesters blocked roads, lit bonfires, and fought police nationwide. They wanted justice for those who had been killed in earlier protests and wanted President William Ruto to make changes to lower the cost of living.
At least three people were shot and hurt in Nairobi, the central city, during the protests. Hundreds of young people, or Gen Z, took to the streets.
shut down
Traders stayed away from their stores and guarded them with different guns out of fear of looting, which slowed down business in cities and towns across the country.
During the day, public transportation was utterly shut down, so many people who came into the central business area for work or school could not get back home.
I took to the streets today for two reasons.
The first is to show support for those who died in past protests. The second is to put pressure on the government to come up with different reasons why it shouldn’t raise taxes,” said John Kimani, a protester in Nairobi.
Millions of people across the country took part in the day-long protests. Some protesters broke into shops and stole things.
Tens of protesters shut down businesses in Kitengela, 33 km outside of Nairobi, and blocked the main road linking Kenya and Tanzania. Police tear gas canisters scattered them, but the protests went on all day. Police say that two stores in the town were robbed, and at least one protester was killed during the fight.
Protests turned violent in Kakamega.
As the protests turned violent in Kakamega, western Kenya, people broke into a gas station and stole things from it.
In the past few weeks, President Ruto has tried to meet the protesters’ requests by firing almost the entire Cabinet, dropping the Finance Bill 2024, and implementing austerity policies.
The Finance Bill 2024 was supposed to introduce new taxes that would bring in an extra 2.7 billion U.S. dollars, which led to the protests.
The president has also asked for a conversation with leaders from different fields, including young people he spoke to for the first time through X space.
“I’m starting over. Please pray for me as I hire new people to help me keep the promises we made because we want to change the country.” “We want a country that is stable, strong, and prosperous, and that carries the hopes and dreams of the people,” Ruto said on July 14 about firing the Cabinet.
However, this has not calmed down the angry young protesters, who want the president to do more, and some even want him to step down.
50 people have been killed so far
Roseline Odede, Chairperson of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, said in a statement released in Nairobi on Tuesday that at least 50 people had been killed and 413 had been hurt in the anti-government protests that began on June 18. The government pays the commission.
“The number of people arrested without a reason is 682.” “We condemn the kidnappings and arrests, and we demand that all people who were wrongfully detained because of the protests be freed right away,” she said.
The National Police Service let the protests happen on Tuesday but told the participants to be calm.
It was said in a statement by Kenya’s Ministry of Interior and National Administration that dangerous gangs had joined the protests and caused lawbreaking behavior.
“What began as an expression of divergent opinion over the financial vision of the country has sadly escalated to a situation where we are sadly counting the number of those killed, injured, and loss of livelihoods for many families,” said the ministry.
The ministry told the president to start creating the Coroner General’s Office. This office will be in charge of investigating deaths, including those caused by police action and ensuring that people are held accountable and that the process is open and clear when there are suspicious deaths.
