The death toll in protests in Kenya has risen to 13, an official of the main doctors’ union told AFP on Wednesday, after anti-tax hike rallies turned violent and police opened fire on protesters who vandalised parliament.
The unprecedented incident in which parts of Parliament were set on fire, destroyed and scores of people injured on Tuesday has shocked Kenyans and forced President William Ruto’s government to deploy the military.
The rallies, led mainly by youth, began peacefully last week, with thousands of protesters marching in the capital, Nairobi, and across the country against the tax hikes.
But tensions escalated sharply on Tuesday afternoon when police officers opened fire on the mob, following which the crowd vandalised the Parliament complex.
A few hours later, Defense Minister Aden Bare Duale announced that the government had deployed the army to assist the police in dealing with the “security emergency” in the country.
“At least 13 people have been killed so far but this is not the final number,” said Simon Kigondu, president of the Kenya Medical Association, adding that he had never seen “this level of violence against unarmed people”.
The Standard newspaper’s front-page headline read “Death, Devastation”, while the Daily Nation described the situation as “chaos”, saying “the country has been shaken to its foundations.”
An official at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi said on Wednesday that doctors were “treating 160 people … some of whom have soft tissue injuries, and some with gunshot wounds.”
At a late night press briefing, Ruto warned that his government would take a tough stand against “violence and anarchy” and likened some protesters to “criminals”.
“It is beyond reasonable or imaginable that criminals masquerading as peaceful protesters could unleash terror against the public, their elected representatives, and the institutions established under our Constitution and expect to go unpunished,” he said.
The government has been surprised by the intensity of opposition to its tax proposals – led mainly by young, Gen-Z Kenyans – which culminated in scenes in parliament that were broadcast live on television.
Images shared on local TV stations showed the mob breaking through barricades and vandalising the building, burning furniture and breaking windows.
When police opened fire on the angry mob, leaving several bodies lying on the ground, protest organisers urged people to go home and “stay safe”.
‘Madness’
According to an AFP correspondent, heavy police force was deployed around parliament early on Wednesday morning, and the smell of tear gas was still in the air.
A policeman standing in front of broken barricades at the complex told AFP he had seen the scene on TV.
“It was crazy, we hope the situation will calm down today,” he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, rallies in various cities across Kenya were largely peaceful.
However, tensions later escalated in Nairobi when some protesters threw stones at police, following which police fired tear gas and water cannon before opening fire.
AFP journalists saw three people lying bloodied and unconscious on the ground near parliament.
‘brute force’
The unrest has alarmed the international community, with the White House appealing for calm and more than 10 Western countries – including Canada, Germany and Britain – saying they were “particularly appalled by the scenes witnessed outside the Kenyan parliament.”
UN chief Antonio Guterres and African Union Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat have also expressed deep concern.
Senior opposition leader Raila Odinga, head of the Azimio Coalition, accused the government of “using brutal force on the children of our country”.
Human rights monitors have also accused authorities of kidnapping protesters.
Police have not responded to any AFP requests for comment.
the cost of living
Long-standing complaints over the rising cost of living escalated last week when lawmakers began debating proposed tax hikes in the 2024 Finance Bill.
The cash-strapped government says the rise is needed to pay off the country’s massive debt of about 10 trillion shillings ($78 billion), equivalent to about 70 percent of Kenya’s gross domestic product.
After withdrawing some of the more controversial proposals – which would have affected the purchase of bread, car ownership, and financial and mobile services – the government now intends to raise fuel prices and export duties.
Kenya’s treasury has warned of a massive budget deficit of 200 billion shillings following Ruto’s decision to roll back some of the tax hikes.
Although Kenya has one of East Africa’s most dynamic economies, one-third of its 52 million population lives in poverty.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
