Protests in Kenya took a violent turn on Wednesday as the revolutionary youth clashed with police in running battles that left sixteen dead and at least 400 injured. Reactionary state forces flooded Nairobi’s streets with tear gas and barricaded government buildings with barbed wire.
What began as commemorations quickly spiraled into chaos when police attempted to repress the action and protesters tore up flagstones to hurl projectiles at security forces while chanting demands for President William Ruto to resign.
The demonstrations were organized to mark the anniversary of last year’s large-scale protests against tax hikes, which had resulted in at least 60 fatalities and reached their climax when a massive crowd breached parliament on June 25.
“We are marching against police brutality, against oppression by the government, against high taxation, everything that is going wrong in this country,” said Anthony, a 25-year-old who was also selling flags.
“We are here as the young generation. We want a complete overhaul of the system, the system is rotten, the system is rogue,” Florence Achala, a protester said in Nairobi.
Police-affiliated ‘goons’ fuel the protests
Public outrage has grown over police brutality, especially following the death of a teacher in custody earlier this month, while last week, a peaceful group of demonstrators was assaulted by motorcycle-riding thugs, locally known as “goons”. These “goons” wielded whips and clubs and appeared to coordinate their attacks with law enforcement.
While the “goons” were not visibly active during Wednesday’s protests, police forces employed heavy tear gas and water cannons in their efforts to disperse groups of demonstrators.
39 people killed, 361 wounded in 2024 protests
In 2024, anti-government protests began on June 18 after President William Ruto proposed tax increases, leading to dozens of deaths and injuries while also resulting in 32 documented cases of enforced or involuntary disappearances, along with 627 arrests during the demonstrations.
In a statement dated July 12, 2024, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reported that 39 people were killed while 361 others sustained injuries during the country’s nationwide anti-government protests.
The “#RutoMustGo” hashtag gained traction during the demonstrations as protesters maintained their demands for President William Ruto’s resignation.
The Kenyan President, William Ruto, abandoned the plan for tax hikes and later announced on June 6, 2024, cuts to government spending through halving the number of advisors, suspending non-essential travel, and dissolving 47 state corporations that overlap.
Nonetheless, anti-government protests continued, with young Kenyans calling for the ousting of President Ruto, as well as the police chief, Japhet Koome, due to the lethal force used by police to disperse previous protests. Koome resigned on July 12.