Crowds in Kenya’s capital Nairobi lobbed rocks and looted businesses as police officers fired tear gas in scattered violence during fresh anti-government protests on Tuesday following last month’s deadly demonstrations.

Activists have continued to agitate online against President William Ruto, despite his decision last week to withdraw a controversial bill that triggered what he has branded “treasonous” protests by Gen-Z Kenyans.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) on Monday said that 39 people had been killed and 361 injured during two weeks of protests — with the worst violence occurring in Nairobi last Tuesday — and condemned the use of force against demonstrators as “excessive and disproportionate”.

It is the most serious crisis to confront Ruto since he took office in September 2022 in a nation often considered a beacon of stability in a turbulent region. 

After last week’s bloody chaos, young Kenyans, whose protest movement has no official leaders, called for a new day of peaceful action on Tuesday, with leaflets posted online using the hashtag “RutoMustGo”.

But Nairobi’s central business district — the focus of previous rallies — saw sporadic confrontations on Tuesday afternoon. Police fired tear gas and used water cannon against groups of stone-throwing men, some of whom lit bonfires on deserted roads.

“Goons have infiltrated,” prominent Gen-Z protester Hanifa Adan posted on X.

AFP journalists reported seeing a number of arrests and injuries, although there are no official figures.

Several coffins, some covered with the national flag, were placed on roads by protesters, images on Kenyan television showed, before they were removed by officers.

Local politician John Kwenya told AFP that business owners shuttering their shops were “scared” of the “goons”.

“This is economic sabotage,” said Kwenya, a member of the Nairobi city county assembly.

Elsewhere in the country, local television broadcast images of larger marches in the coastal opposition stronghold of Mombasa, where a number of cars were torched, and Kenyan media shared video of at least one shop being vandalised.

Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki denounced what he described as an “orgy of violence”, warning that the government would take action against anyone engaging in “anarchic chaos and cruel plunder”. 

“This reign of terror against the people of Kenya and the impunity of dangerous criminal gangs must end at whatever cost,” he said.

On Tuesday last week, largely peaceful anti-tax rallies descended into deadly chaos when lawmakers passed the finance bill — a deeply unpopular move among Kenyans already suffering from a cost of living crisis.

After the announcement of the vote, crowds ransacked the partly ablaze parliament complex in central Nairobi as police fired live bullets at protesters.

Although Ruto scrapped the legislation and appealed for dialogue with young Kenyans, his actions appear not to have appeased his critics.

In a television interview on Sunday he defended his decision to call in the military to tackle unrest and insisted he did not have “blood on my hands”. 

In the Rift Valley town of Nakuru on Tuesday, protesters marched peacefully, with some carrying pictures of three people killed in last week’s demonstrations.

“We want justice for innocent Kenyans killed by police during the protests that were peaceful,” Mary Lynn Wangui told AFP.

“Ruto has not offered an apology,” said the 24-year-old, as she waved a placard declaring: “RutoMustGo”.

At a peaceful march in the lakeside city of Kisumu in western Kenya, demonstrator Allan Odhiambo, 26, told AFP he had lost hope in Ruto.

“We promised a peaceful protest and that is what we have done, but Ruto must go,” he said.

The state-funded KNCHR on Monday said that in the previous protests there had been 32 cases of “enforced or involuntary disappearances” and 627 arrests of protesters. 

Kenya’s cash-strapped government said previously that the tax increases were necessary to fill its coffers and service a huge public debt of some 10 trillion shillings ($78 billion), or about 70 percent of GDP.

In Sunday’s interview, Ruto warned that the government would have to borrow another $7.7 billion because of the decision to drop the finance bill.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

People react to tear gas during a demonstration over police killings of people protesting against Kenya’s proposed finance bill 2024/2025, in Nairobi, Kenya, June 27, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Kenyan police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators in Nairobi on June 27, as protesters returned to the streets despite President William Ruto scrapping contentious tax hikes after deadly clashes.

The protests – led largely by young Kenyans – caught the authorities off-guard, as Mr. Ruto’s government ricocheted between taking a tough line on the unrest and calling for dialogue.

Dozens of protesters gathered in Nairobi’s central business district, with soldiers deployed and police in anti-riot gear blocking access along roads leading to Mr. Ruto’s office at State House and parliament, according to AFP journalists.

Officers fired rubber bullets and tear gas at small groups of protesters and arrested at least seven people, with scuffles erupting as some demonstrators threw stones at police, AFP journalists saw.

“The youth will not rest,” Lucky, a 27-year-old university graduate, told AFP.

“It’s our future we are fighting for,” he said, adding that he did not trust Mr. Ruto, who had earlier likened the demonstrators to “criminals” before backing down.

Many shops remained shuttered as traders worried about further unrest.

Protesters also rallied in the port city of Mombasa and the opposition bastion of Kisumu, with some blocking roads and lighting fires in the lakeside city.

After the parliament complex was ransacked on Tuesday and police opened fire on protesters, Ruto made a surprise U-turn on the tax hikes that set off the demonstrations.

He declined to sign the increases into law and withdrew the bill on Wednesday.

“The people have spoken,” he said, adding that he would seek “engagement with the young people of our nation”.

But protesters maintained Thursday’s rally in memory of those killed in the demonstrations, criticising Mr. Ruto’s dramatic reversal as a case of too little, too late.

Ivy, a 26-year-old job seeker, told AFP Wednesday that Mr. Ruto’s about-turn was “a start to changing things.”

“He could have done this earlier without people having to die,” she added, echoing the words of other protesters interviewed by AFP.

Cannot take risk

A state-backed rights group counted 22 dead nationwide – 19 in Nairobi alone – in the aftermath of Tuesday’s protests and vowed an investigation.

“This is the largest number of deaths (in) a single day protest,” said Roseline Odede, chairwoman of the state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, adding that 300 people were injured across the country.

Shops were largely closed in Nairobi’s business district on Thursday.

“We cannot take risk. We don’t know what happens next,” said Joe, an employee in a perfume store, as he prepared to head home.

“Why did they have to kill these young people? This bill is not worth people dying,” the 30-year-old said.

“We are in uncharted waters.”

The unrest has alarmed the international community, with Washington calling on Kenya to respect the right to peaceful protest and the UN urging “accountability” for the bloodshed.

Rights watchdogs have accused the authorities of abducting protesters.

The police have not responded to AFP requests for comment.

Debt fears

Mr. Ruto rolled back some of the tax measures last week, prompting the treasury to warn of a budget shortfall of 200 billion shillings ($1.6 billion).

Mr. Ruto said Wednesday that withdrawing the bill would mean a significant hole in funding for development programmes to help farmers and teachers, among others.

The cash-strapped government had said previously that the increases were necessary to service Kenya’s debt of some 10 trillion shillings ($78 billion), equal to roughly 70% of GDP.

Analysts warned that Ruto’s administration faced a tough choice in the weeks ahead.

The government “will now have to find a way to pacify two opposing forces: a populace willing to resort to violence to protect livelihoods, and a macroeconomic trajectory that, bar considerable multilateral support, is heading towards a cliff,” Oxford Economics said in a note.

Mr. Ruto’s administration is under pressure from the International Monetary Fund, which has called for fiscal reforms in order to access crucial funding.

Kenyan President William Ruto said on June 26 that he won’t sign into law a finance bill proposing new taxes, a day after protesters stormed parliament and several people were shot dead. It was the biggest assault on Kenya’s government in decades.

The government wanted to raise funds to pay off debt, but Kenyans said the bill caused more economic pain as millions struggle to get by. The chaos on Tuesday led the government to deploy the military, and Ruto called protesters’ actions “treasonous.”

Five persons were shot dead and 31 wounded on June 25 during protests in Kenya over proposed tax hikes, as crowds opposed to proposed tax hikes breached barricades to enter the parliamentary complex where a fire erupted.

The Kenyan parliament passed the controversial finance bill on June 25 which increases taxes on a range of items including internet data, fuel, bank transfers and diapers

New Delhi:

India has advised its citizens in Kenya to exercise utmost caution and restrict non-essential movement amid violent protests in the East African nation against the government’s proposed tax hikes.

“In view of the prevailing tense situation, all Indians in Kenya are advised to exercise utmost caution, restrict non-essential movement and avoid the areas affected by the protests and violence till the situation clears up,” the Indian consulate in Kenya said in an advisory posted on social media platform X.

ADVISORY FOR INDIAN NATIONALS IN KENYA

In view of the prevailing tense situation, all Indians in Kenya are advised to exercise utmost caution, restrict non-essential movement and avoid the areas affected by the protests and violence till the situation clears up.

— India in Kenya (@IndiainKenya) June 25, 2024

“Please follow local news and Mission’s website and social media handles for updates,” it added.

At least five protestors were shot dead and more than 150 others injured in Nairobi as police used tear gas and live rounds after thousands stormed into Kenya’s Parliament and set part of it on fire.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

India has advised its citizens in Kenya to exercise utmost caution and restrict non-essential movement amid violent protests in the East African nation against the government’s proposed tax hikes.

“In view of the prevailing tense situation, all Indians in Kenya are advised to exercise utmost caution, restrict non-essential movement and avoid the areas affected by the protests and violence till the situation clears up,” the Indian consulate in Kenya said in an advisory posted on social media platform X.

ADVISORY FOR INDIAN NATIONALS IN KENYA

In view of the prevailing tense situation, all Indians in Kenya are advised to exercise utmost caution, restrict non-essential movement and avoid the areas affected by the protests and violence till the situation clears up.

— India in Kenya (@IndiainKenya) June 25, 2024

“Please follow local news and Mission’s website and social media handles for updates,” it added.

At least five protestors were shot dead and more than 150 others injured in Nairobi as police used tear gas and live rounds after thousands stormed into Kenya’s Parliament and set part of it on fire.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)