Kenyan soldiers patrol near a stadium before a new anti-government demonstration planned in central Nairobi on June 27, 2024 (AFP / LUIS TATO)
Kenyan police fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Thursday at small groups of demonstrators gathered again in Nairobi, two days after the deadly violence that led President William Ruto to withdraw his contested budget plan.
A few scuffles broke out at midday between the police, deployed in large numbers in the streets of the capital’s city center, and these demonstrators who chanted in particular “Ruto must go”.
These new demonstrations remained very fragmented at the beginning of the afternoon and a priori less massive than that of Tuesday, when thousands of demonstrators pushed back the police in the area of Nairobi’s official buildings.
On Thursday, a few people threw stones at police officers, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets, and at least seven people were arrested, AFP journalists noted.
Police in riot gear blocked access to roads leading to State House – the presidential palace – and Parliament on Thursday.
Protests also took place in the opposition strongholds of Mombasa (east) and Kisumu (west).
Tuesday, after the first days of peaceful mobilization to demand the withdrawal of the new taxes planned by Mr. Ruto in his 2024-25 draft budget, the demonstration in Nairobi turned into a bloodbath, particularly around Parliament, including some buildings were burned and ransacked.
According to several NGOs, the police fired live ammunition to try to contain the crowd which forced the security barriers to enter the complex of the National Assembly and the Senate, an attack unprecedented in the history of the independent country since 1963.
A total of 22 people were killed during the day, including 19 in Nairobi, and more than 300 injured, said the Kenyan human rights body (KNHRC).
President Ruto announced the withdrawal of the proposed budget the next day, but this did not deter protesters from continuing to demonstrate on Thursday.
Beyond the draft budget, the protest movement has transformed into a broader denunciation of the policies of William Ruto, elected in 2022 with the promise of promoting redistribution to the working classes.
– “Unknown terrain” –
Protesters carry an injured man near Parliament in Nairobi, June 25, 2024 in Kenya (AFP / LUIS TATO)
Thursday morning, in the capital’s business center, where many businesses remained closed, Moe, employed in a perfumery, had lowered the curtain.
“Why did they have to kill these young people? This bill is not worth people dying (…) Some people are angry and might want revenge,” he laments in front of his perfume store, adding : “We are in uncharted territory.”
On Wednesday, a figure in the protest movement, journalist and activist Hanifa Adan, called for demonstrations again on Thursday during a “peaceful” white march in memory of the victims.
A few hours later, William Ruto, who the day before had stated that he wanted to firmly repress “violence and anarchy”, finally announced the withdrawal of the budget project, and said he wanted a national consultation with young people.
An announcement immediately described as a “com operation” by Hanifa Adan, and greeted with suspicion by a number of demonstrators, like Lucky, 27, present in downtown Nairobi since 9:00 a.m. and who assures that he does not “trust Ruto , this law will pass one way or another.”
– Debt –
Demonstration against the government’s draft budget, June 25, 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya (AFP / LUIS TATO)
The spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday demanded that responsibilities be “clearly” established following the deaths of the protesters.
The government considers new taxes necessary to give the heavily indebted country some room for maneuver.
“How can we manage our debt situation together?” asked William Ruto after capitulating on the draft budget.
He was particularly concerned about a significant hole in funding for programs for farmers and teachers.
The government “will now have to find a way to pacify two opposing forces: a population willing to resort to violence to protect its livelihoods, and a macroeconomic trajectory that, in the absence of considerable multilateral support, is heading toward the precipice”, according to an analysis by the Oxford Economics Institute.
The country’s public debt amounts to around 10,000 billion shillings (71 billion euros), or around 70% of GDP. The 2024-25 budget provided for 4,000 billion shillings (29 billion euros) in spending, a record.
