Ten people have been killed in Kenya after clashing with police at the latest anti-government protests, a state-funded human rights commission has said.
A further 29 people were injured, the Kenya National Commission added.
Some Kenyans have for weeks been protesting police brutality, poor governance and the high cost of living, while demanding President William Ruto’s resignation.
Authorities today blocked major roads leading to the capital, Nairobi, in the strictest measures yet to contain the unrest, which saw protesters light bonfires and throw stones at police.
Officers fired and hurled tear gas canisters, injuring demonstrators. One young man being carried away, with his shirt drenched in blood, said he had been shot.
A reporter for Reuters news agency said they saw one man lying motionless on the road with a bleeding wound after police fired at advancing protesters in the Nairobi suburb of Kangemi.
As well as blocking vehicles from accessing Nairobi’s city centre, police also stopped most pedestrians unless they were deemed to have essential duties.
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Protests were recorded across 17 of Kenya’s 47 counties, the Kenya National Commission said.
In Kenya, 7 July is known as Saba Saba, which is Swahili for Seven Seven.
It’s a significant date in Kenya‘s history and marks the anniversary of the first major protests 35 years ago.
Those demonstrations called on then-President Daniel arap Moi – Mr Ruto’s mentor – for a transition from a one-party state to a multiparty democracy. This change was realised in the 1992 elections.
A professor of history and international relations at United States International University Africa in Nairobi said there is “no reversing the Gen Z Saba Saba-like spirit”.
Macharia Munene said: “Attempt to criminalise protests is reactive and will not work.
“It instead makes the government appear retrogressive and desperate enough to subvert the constitution.”
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Kenya’s interior minister Kipchumba Murkomen said on Sunday that the government would not tolerate violent protests and police would be deployed to ensure public safety.
Last month, he told police to “shoot on sight” anyone who approaches police stations during protests, after several were burned.
Kenya’s latest wave of demonstrations was sparked by calls for police accountability after the death of a blogger in police custody last month.
A police officer then shot a civilian at close range during a protest on 17 June, further angering the public.
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On 25 June, at least 19 people were killed during demonstrations against police brutality that were held to mark the one-year anniversary of anti-tax protests.
The 2024 protests culminated in parliament being stormed and more than 60 people being killed.
