(Nairobi) At least five people were killed in Kenya on Tuesday during anti-government protests which turned into chaos in the capital Nairobi, where protesters broke through police barriers and entered Parliament.

According to a press release from several NGOs, including Amnesty Kenya, “at least five people were shot and killed […] Thirty-one were injured” during this day of mobilization across the country against the government’s plans for new taxes currently under debate in parliament.

These human rights organizations report shootings with live ammunition, rubber bullets and injuries from gas canisters.

They also indicate that they have noted 21 cases of kidnappings of people by “officers in uniform or in civilian clothes” over the last 24 hours.

AFP journalists present on site saw three inanimate people, lying in pools of blood, near Parliament, where a building was briefly on fire.

After a few dozen minutes, the police regained control of the scene. 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 metres from parliament, police used water cannon to put out a fire at the Nairobi governor’s offices, according to footage broadcast by Citizen TV.

The main opposition coalition, Azimio, accused the government of “unleashing its brute force against the children of our country” who were protesting on Tuesday.

“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.

Furthermore, according to NetBlocks, an organization monitoring the world’s telecommunications network, the internet network in Kenya was disrupted “significantly” on Tuesday, when the police were “repressing demonstrations”.

The organization specifies that the authorities had affirmed the day before that they would not block the internet.  

Tension rose during the day in the Nairobi CBD for this third demonstration in eight days by a movement called “Occupy Parliament” opposed to the 2024-25 draft budget and to its new taxes.

The first clashes broke out around midday after demonstrators advanced into an area housing several official buildings (Parliament, Supreme Court, Nairobi town hall, etc.). Protesters then entered the Parliament grounds, where MPs had just approved amendments to the text, which must be voted on by June 30.

Other demonstrations were held in several other cities in the country, notably in the opposition strongholds of Mombasa (east) and Kisumu (west), as well as in Eldoret (west), a large city in the Rift Valley, President William Ruto’s home region, Nyeri (southwest) and Nakuru (central).

“Occupy Parliament” was launched on social media shortly after the 2024-2025 draft budget was presented to Parliament on June 13, providing for the introduction of new taxes, including 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 continued their movement, demanding the complete withdrawal of the text.

Initially led by “Generation Z” (young people born after 1997), 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’s demonstration, the protests had already seen the deaths of two people in Nairobi, as well as dozens of injured and hundreds of arrests.

The police did not respond to requests from the AFP on these accusations.

Kenya, an East African country of around 52 million people, is an economic powerhouse in the region.

However, it recorded year-on-year inflation of 5.1% in May, with food and fuel prices rising by 6.2% and 7.8% respectively, according to the Central Bank.