(Nairobi) One of the figures of the anti-government protest movement in Kenya called for peaceful demonstrations again on Thursday in memory of the victims of Tuesday’s day of mobilization which left at least 13 dead according to an association of doctors.
On Tuesday evening, after a day of chaos, violence and looting in the capital Nairobi, President William Ruto displayed his firmness and assured that “violence and anarchy” would be firmly suppressed.
“All sovereign power rests with the people of Kenya. You can’t kill us all. Tomorrow we march peacefully again wearing white, for all of our fallen. You won’t be forgotten! ! ! », Wrote journalist and activist Hanifa Adan, a protest figure, on Wednesday morning on X.
In the morning, the president of the country’s main doctors’ organisation (the Kenya Medical Association) Simon Kigondu reported to AFP on Wednesday morning that “at least 13 people had been killed”, stressing that “this is not the final figure”.
The authorities did not give any figures on the number of victims during this third day of mobilization in eight days against the 2024-25 draft budget providing for tax increases. The text, which has yet to be promulgated by President Ruto, was voted on in Parliament on Tuesday.
“We’ve never seen this before. We had seen violence in 2007 following the elections, but never this level of violence against unarmed people,” Mr. Kigondu stressed.
Kenya was still in shock on Wednesday from this violence, which notably saw demonstrators storm Parliament, a first in the history of the independent country since 1963.
In the central business district (CBD) of Nairobi, the smell of tear gas still floated in the morning in the streets, the roads of which still bore traces of blood. A large police force, reinforced by the army on Tuesday evening, crisscrossed the neighborhood, AFP noted.
Tension suddenly rose Tuesday afternoon in central Nairobi.
According to NGOs, including the Kenyan branch of Amnesty International, the police fired live ammunition to try to contain the crowd, which forced the entrance to the Parliament grounds. Buildings there were ransacked and partially burned.
“The government doesn’t care about us, they shot us with live ammunition. The president persecuted innocent people,” complained Steve, a 40-year-old farmer who returned to the protest site on Wednesday. He promised to protest on Thursday, saying he expected “more violence and chaos.”
In Nairobi and several towns, crowds also engaged in looting.
“They didn’t leave anything, just the boxes,” lamented James Ng’ang’a, owner of an electronics store on Moi Avenue, the CBD’s main thoroughfare. “They took everything, the phones, the laptops and the store’s stock upstairs…”
Buildings were burned in Eldoret, in the Rift Valley, stronghold of President William Ruto.
The scenes of chaos alarmed the United States and more than a dozen European countries on Tuesday, as well as the UN and the African Union, which declared themselves “deeply concerned” and called for calm.
The main opposition coalition, Azimio, led by historic opponent Raila Odinga, accused the government of having “unleashed its brute force” against protesters and urged police to “stop shooting innocent, peaceful and unarmed.”
The police did not respond to requests from AFP on the subject.
This protest movement against taxes, called “Occupy Parliament”, was launched on social networks shortly after the presentation to Parliament on June 13 of the 2024-2025 draft budget, including a VAT of 16 % on bread and an annual tax of 2.5% on private vehicles.
After the start of protests, the government, which considers new taxes necessary in view of the country’s heavy debt, announced on June 18 that it was withdrawing most of the measures planned for this purpose.
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.
