O police opened fire on protesters who today tried to invade the Kenyan parliament, with at least 10 protesters killed, dozens injured and parts of the parliament building set on fire While deputies debated the tax law, thousands of people took to the streets across the country to protest planned tax increases.
Scenes of chaos
Scenes of chaos unfolded as protesters advanced on police forces, who repelled them in an attempt to storm the parliament building. Flames were coming out of the building.
Television reported a fire in the Nairobi governor’s offices.
Police opened fire when tear gas and water cannon were deemed insufficient to disperse the crowd of protesters.
A Reuters reporter counted the bodies of at least five protesters outside Parliament. A rescue team said at least 10 people were killed by gunfire.
More than 50 injured
Another rescue team said more than 50 people were injured by gunfire.
The NGO Kenya Commission for Human Rights (KHCR) said it saw police “shoot at four protesters, (…) killing one of them”, in a press release published on X.
AFP journalists who were at the scene saw three lifeless bodies, in pools of blood, near Parliament.
An Amnesty International official in Kenya told AFP of “many injuries”, complaining of the “increased use of live ammunition by police” during the demonstration.
They called for demonstrations and a general strike against tax legislation
Demonstration organizers called for demonstrations and a general strike against the tax legislation in hopes of building on the momentum that, in the space of a week, turned an online mobilization led mainly by young people into a major headache for the government. Protesters are also calling for President William Ruto to resign.
Ruto won elections almost two years ago with a pro-poor program for Kenya’s working poor, but he currently faces demands from creditors such as the International Monetary Fund for government budget cuts and, on the other, a population suffering from rising of the cost of living.
Private television network KTN reported that state authorities threatened to stop broadcasting news about the protests.
AMP Source