Anti-government protesters in Kenya have resumed demonstrations, demanding President William Ruto’s resignation despite recent concessions.
The protests turned deadly when one man was fatally shot during a clash between demonstrators and security forces on the outskirts of Nairobi, according to reports.
In central Nairobi, shops closed as police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters.
The demonstrations initially began in opposition to an unpopular tax bill, which President Ruto has since withdrawn.
However, they have evolved into broader grievances over governance failures, corruption, and police accountability for the deaths of numerous demonstrators in recent rallies.
President Ruto, responding to the unrest, called for dialogue after dismissing his entire cabinet and seeing the resignation of the police chief last week.
Despite these actions, the protest movement, largely coordinated online by young Kenyans, continues to reject dialogue and insists on President Ruto’s resignation.
In Kitengela, south of Nairobi, protesters carried the body of the slain demonstrator to a nearby police station, chanting “Ruto must go.”
Clashes erupted as demonstrators lit fires, threw stones, and clashed with police. Similar chaotic scenes were reported in Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, and Nyeri.
In Nakuru, a journalist from Kenyan television station K24 was seriously injured by a bullet while covering the protests. She was shot in the thigh and has been hospitalized for treatment.
Protests have spread across nearly half of Kenya’s 47 counties, according to Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper.
The tax bill was revoked after protesters stormed and set part of the parliament complex ablaze on June 25.
The protests have been marked by significant casualties, with at least 50 people killed and 413 injured, according to Kenya’s state-funded rights body.
Earlier on Tuesday, the acting police chief warned of “credible intelligence” suggesting that organized criminal groups planned to disrupt and destabilize the protests.
He urged peaceful conduct and cooperation with police for collective security.
President Ruto, on Monday, accused the Ford Foundation of financing the protests. The US-based foundation refuted the allegation, stating, “We do not fund or sponsor the recent protests against the finance bill.”
Source-BBC
