(Nairobi) At least five people were killed in Kenya on Tuesday, according to NGOs, during anti-tax demonstrations repressed by the police and which turned into chaos in the capital Nairobi, with an intrusion of protesters into Parliament.
The police used tear gas, water cannons, plastic bullets and live ammunition, according to several NGOs, to disperse the demonstrators during this third day of mobilization against government plans for new taxes currently being debated by deputies.
“At least five people were shot and killed […]. Some 31 people were injured,” these NGOs, including Amnesty Kenya, said in a statement, also mentioning injuries from gas canisters. In the process, the United States and more than a dozen European countries declared themselves “deeply concerned” by the violence and called for calm.
They also indicate that they have noted, over the last 24 hours, 21 cases of kidnappings of people by “officers in uniform or in civilian clothes”.
AFP journalists present in central Nairobi saw three lifeless people lying in pools of blood near Parliament, where a building briefly caught fire.
One of the organizers of the movement, the journalist and activist Hanifa Adan, called on the demonstrators in the afternoon to return home. “I love you all, stay safe,” she wrote on X.
The main opposition coalition, Azimio, accused the government of “unleashing its brute force against the children of our country.”
“Kenya cannot afford to kill its children just because they are asking for food, jobs and a listening ear. The police must therefore immediately stop shooting innocent, peaceful and unarmed children,” Azimio stressed in a statement.
In Washington, the White House condemned “violence in all its forms” and called for calm, a National Security Council spokeswoman said. “The United States is closely monitoring the situation in Nairobi,” she added.
Tension rose during the day in the Nairobi CBD for this third demonstration in eight days by the “Occupy Parliament” movement opposed to the 2024-25 draft budget and its new taxes.
After initial clashes with the police around midday as the procession approached official buildings, demonstrators entered Parliament, where the deputies had just approved amendments to the text, which must be voted on by the 30 June.
The police regained control of the scene after a few tens of minutes. Television images showed ransacked rooms, overturned tables, broken windows and smoking furniture strewn across gardens.
Three army trucks brought reinforcements to secure the area around Parliament, where dozens of demonstrators faced police forces, AFP journalists noted.
A few hundred meters away, police used a water cannon to put out a fire in the Nairobi governor’s offices, according to images broadcast by Citizen TV.
Furthermore, according to NetBlocks, a global telecommunications network monitoring organization, the internet network in Kenya was disrupted “significantly” on Tuesday.
The organization specifies that the authorities had affirmed the day before that they would not block the internet.
Other demonstrations were held in several other cities, notably in the opposition strongholds of Mombasa (east) and Kisumu (west), as well as in Eldoret (west), a large city in the Rift Valley, region of Origin of President William Ruto.
“Occupy Parliament” was launched on social networks shortly after the presentation to Parliament on June 13 of the 2024-2025 draft budget providing in particular for a 16% VAT on bread and an annual tax of 2.5% on private vehicles .
For the government, taxes are necessary to restore room for maneuver to the country, which is heavily in debt.
After the start of protests, the government announced on June 18 that it was withdrawing most of the measures, but the demonstrators are demanding the complete withdrawal of the text.
The movement transformed into a broader challenge to the policies of President Ruto, who said he was ready to dialogue on Sunday.
“We are not afraid of anything,” said Stephanie Wangari, unemployed, 24: “Ruto has never kept his promises, even to provide work for young people. We are tired. Let him go.”
Before Tuesday, this mobilization had already been marked by the death of two people in Nairobi, as well as dozens of injuries and hundreds of arrests.
