At least 11 killed in anti-government protests

At least 11 people have died in anti-government protests in Kenya as of Monday evening, according to a statement released by the state-funded Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR). 

Police earlier this morning had closed roads leading into the capital, Nairobi, to block protesters from rallying in the city center, reported Felix Maringa, DW’s Nairobi correspondent. 

A police statement released late Monday said over 560 people were arrested around the country during Monday’s protest. The statement, which was released after the KNCHR report, estimated that 11 people were killed and that dozens of police officers were injured. 

Protesters on Monday were commemorating the July 7 demonstrations, known as “Saba Saba,” Swahili for seven, the first major protests in Kenya that took place 35 years ago.

Those protests called for a transition from a one-party state to a multiparty democracy, with the first multiparty elections having taken place in 1992. 

Today, protesters are demanding President William Ruto’s resignation over his alleged corruption. Other issues protesters have cited include high cost of living, police brutality and poor governance.

Authorities shut down roads leading to central Nairobi, parliament

Roads leading to parliament, which was stormed during protests against proposed tax increases last year, and the president’s office, were barricaded using razor wire.

Police officers also stopped pedestrians, vehicles and bikes from entering the city, except for those deemed to have essential duties.

Public Service Minister Geoffrey Ruku had urged all government employees to report to work on Monday, insisting that the demonstrations would not disrupt public services.

But most businesses remained closed in the capital as people stayed away from going into work in the central business district.

Police spokesperson Michael Muchiri said that during the demonstrations “certain individuals remained determined to engage in acts of lawlessness that involved multiple criminal acts.”

Protesters light bonfires, police hurl tear gas to dispel crowds

Protesters lit bonfires and threw stones at police, while police fired and hurled tear gas canisters, injuring demonstrators, according to reports.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights said in its report Monday evening that numerous police officers were not wearing their uniforms and patrolling the streets in unmarked vehicles, in defiance of a court order that asks officers to be clearly identified by their uniform.

“They fire live rounds everywhere. They are not even targeting anyone, then it land to whoever it will land. The police are being used improperly by the government, they should think about who they are killing. We are not animals, we are human beings like them, and we need to be protected by them. Yet, they are the ones killing us,” Nairobi resident Evans Nyakwara said. 

Kenyans protesting police brutality, ‘adamant’ about changing situation 

According to the KNCHR, protests took place on Monday in 17 out of Kenya’s 47 counties. They mark the latest in a series of widespread demonstrations.

“Kenyans have continued to castigate police over what they call heavy-handedness when it comes to dealing with protesters, and police have continued dealing very brutally with the protesters,” said DW correspondent Maringa.

“We have police lobbying teargas into homesteads, we have water canons discharging water into homesteads, but Kenyans have remained adamant that they will remain on the streets until they see the changes that they clamor for come to pass,” he added. 

Kenya hit by protests over the last months

Kenya’s latest wave of violent demonstrations was sparked by calls for police accountability following the death of a blogger in police custody last month.

During protests on June 17, a police officer shot a civilian at close range, further angering the public.

On June 25, at least 19 people were killed and more than 400 injured during protests against police brutality that were timed to coincide with the one-year anniversary of demonstrations against President Ruto’s proposed tax hikes. 

At least 60 people lost their lives in those protests last year, and while Ruto ultimately withdrew the proposed tax bill, mass rallies have taken hold.