Protests in the East African country of Kenya turned into bloody clashes on the 25th, when security forces were accused of opening fire on demonstrators storming the country’s parliamentary building, resulting in the deaths of five people. The White House, the United Nations and the African Union all said afterward that they hoped all parties would exercise restraint.
Obama’s sister joins the protest
Reuters reports that protests on the 25th brought chaos to the capital Nairobi as protesters overpowered police trying to enter the parliamentary compound. Local television stations later showed damage to the interior of the parliament building, part of which had been set alight.
After unsuccessful attempts to disperse the crowd with tear gas and water cannons, Nairobi police opened fire. Local media say police eventually succeeded in driving the protesters out of the parliament building and MPs were evacuated through an underground tunnel. The Kenya Medical Association said at least five people were shot dead and 31 injured in the clashes, 13 of them by live ammunition and four by rubber bullets. The association called on the authorities to establish safe medical corridors to protect medical staff and ambulances.
CNN reports that Kenyan activist Auma Obama, the half-sister of former U.S. President Barack Obama, attended the protest and was tear-gassed by police. She faced CNN cameras and said she had come to the protest to support young people advocating for their rights, before the interview was interrupted by tear gas fired by police.
For its part, Obama’s former presidential office has not commented on Omar Obama’s involvement in the protest.
Tax hike proposal sparks wave of protests
The Associated Press reports that the protesters’ initial demand was for parliament to reject Kenyan President Ruto’s proposed finance bill, which seeks to increase tax revenue and cut the country’s persistently high fiscal deficit of late.
The controversial finance bill was published on the 18th of this month, in which the government made some concessions by not increasing taxes in several areas previously discussed, including bread, car ownership and financial services. However, the government still intends to continue to raise some taxes, arguing that the proposed levies are necessary to fill the treasury and to reduce reliance on external borrowing, which has caused public discontent.
Young people involved in the protests said they had voted for Ruto for his promised economic relief for the poor, but now feel betrayed by the Ruto government’s call for tax hikes at a time when the cost of living has skyrocketed. The whole Kenyan society is not happy about it. Kenya’s parliament is said to have passed the bill before protesters stormed the building on the 25th.
While large numbers of protesters took to the streets, protests were also seen elsewhere in Kenya. In Ruto’s own hometown of Naivasha, protesters chanted “Ruto must go”. The state parliament building in the country’s western city of Nakuru was also stormed by protesters. In Mombasa, the country’s second-largest city, the mayor joined the protesters outside his office and expressed support for their demands.
Kenyan authorities have called for restraint in the use of military force
The mainland’s CCTV news client reported that Ruto spoke out against the massive demonstrations in Nairobi on the evening of the 25th local time. Ruto said the crowd must be viewed separately from those who take peaceful means to legitimately express dissent and those who take violent action, and that the Kenyan government is determined to fulfill its constitutional duty to protect the Kenyan people from all forms of harm. Kenyan authorities also made an announcement that evening that the Kenya Defense Forces had been tasked on the 25th to support the National Police Service in response to a security emergency caused by ongoing violent protests across the country, as well as the threat of damage to critical infrastructure.
For its part, the White House said that the United States was closely monitoring the situation in Nairobi and urged all parties to remain calm. The ambassadors of Britain, Germany and other countries also said in a joint statement that they were deeply concerned about the violence in the recent anti-tax protests and called on all parties to exercise restraint.
The spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General said on the 25th that Secretary-General Guterres was closely following the development of the situation in Kenya and was shocked by the violence mentioned in the report. Guterres called on the local Kenyan police and security forces to exercise restraint and called on the public to protest peacefully. The African Union Commission also issued a statement saying that AU Chairperson Faki expressed deep concern over the clashes triggered by public demonstrations in Kenya and urged all stakeholders to remain calm and avoid further violence.
The Latest will keep you updated.
