“Shaken to the core”: death toll from protests in Kenya rises to 13

NAIROBI: The death toll from protests in Kenya rose to 13, an official from the main doctors’ association told AFP on Wednesday (June 26), after rallies against tax hikes turned violent and police opened fire on demonstrators who ransacked Parliament.

The unprecedented scenes that set parts of Parliament ablaze and gutted and injured scores of people on Tuesday shocked Kenyans and prompted President William Ruto’s government to deploy the army.

The rallies, mainly led by young people, began last week largely peacefully, with thousands of demonstrators marching in the capital Nairobi and across the country against tax increases.

But tensions flared Tuesday afternoon, when police fired live ammunition into the crowd who then ransacked the parliamentary complex.

Hours later, Defense Minister Aden Bare Duale announced that the government had deployed the army to support the police in the fight against the “security emergency” in the country.

“So far we have at least 13 people killed, but that is not the final figure,” said Simon Kigondu, president of the Kenya Medical Association, adding that he had never seen “such a level of violence against unarmed people.”

“Death, chaos,” ran the front page headline of the Standard newspaper, while the Daily Nation described the situation as “pandemonium”, saying: “The foundations of the country have been shaken to the core.”

An official at Nairobi’s Kenyatta National Hospital said Wednesday that doctors were treating “160 people… some with soft tissue injuries, others with gunshot wounds.”

In a late-night press briefing, Ruto warned that his government would take a hard line against “violence and lawlessness”, branding some protesters as “criminals”.

“It is neither acceptable nor even conceivable that criminals posing as peaceful demonstrators can unleash a reign of terror against the people, their elected representatives and the institutions established by our constitution and hope to escape unscathed,” he said. he declared.

The government was surprised by the intensity of opposition to its tax proposals – led mostly by young Kenyans from Generation Z – which culminated in scenes in Parliament that were broadcast live on television.

Footage shared on local television channels after the crowd broke through the barricades showed the building ransacked, with burned furniture and broken windows.

As police fired on the angry crowd, leaving several bodies strewn on the ground, protest organizers urged people to go home together and “stay safe.”

“MADNESS”

A strong police presence was deployed around Parliament early Wednesday, according to an AFP journalist, with the smell of tear gas still present.

A police officer standing in front of the complex’s broken barricades told AFP he had watched the scenes unfold on television.

“It was crazy, we hope it will be calm today,” he said.

Earlier Tuesday, rallies in various Kenyan towns were largely peaceful.

However, tensions escalated in Nairobi later in the day, with some protesters throwing stones at police, who deployed tear gas and water cannons before firing live ammunition.

AFP journalists saw three people bleeding profusely and lying motionless on the ground near Parliament.

“BRUTE FORCE”

The unrest has alarmed the international community, with the White House calling for calm and more than ten Western countries – including Canada, Germany and Britain – saying they were “particularly shocked by the scenes observed in front of the Kenyan Parliament”.

UN chief Antonio Guterres and African Union commission head Moussa Faki Mahamat also expressed deep concern.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who leads the Azimio coalition, accused the government of using “brutal force against the children of our country”.

Rights groups have also accused authorities of kidnapping protesters.

Police did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.

COST OF LIFE

Long-standing grievances over the rising cost of living intensified last week as lawmakers began debating tax increases proposed in the 2024 budget bill.

The cash-strapped government says the increases are needed to repay the country’s massive debt, which stands at some 10 trillion shillings ($78 billion), or about 70 percent of Kenya’s GDP.

After abandoning some of the most controversial proposals – which would have affected the purchase of bread, car ownership and financial and mobile services – the government now intends to increase fuel prices and tariffs. export.

Kenya’s treasury has warned of a huge budget deficit of Sh200 billion following Ruto’s decision to roll back some tax hikes.

While Kenya is one of East Africa’s fastest growing economies, a third of its 52 million people live in poverty.