In Kenya, police fire rubber bullets to disperse protesters in Nairobi

The withdrawal of the draft budget will not have eased tensions in Kenya. Kenyan police fired rubber bullets on Thursday June 27 to disperse demonstrators who were gathering in the center of the capital Nairobi, noted a journalist from Agence France-Presse (AFP). A little earlier in the morning, the police, gathered in large numbers in the streets of the business center, had fired tear gas to disperse scattered groups of demonstrators, two days after a rally against the tax policy of the government in the heart of the capital which turned into a bloodbath, with 22 dead according to the Kenyan body for the protection of human rights.

The start of the new day of demonstrations, Thursday June 27, was marked by tear gas fire in the business center of the capital Nairobi. The police, deployed in large numbers in the streets of the city center, used tear gas on scattered groups of dozens of demonstrators mobilized against government policy.

Kenya was bracing for another day of anti-government protests after President William Ruto announced he was withdrawing his budget bill following Tuesday’s day of protests that turned deadly in Nairobi.

In the capital, a large police force was deployed to prevent access to State House, the presidential palace, journalists from Agence France-Presse (AFP) noted. On Avenue Moi, in the center of the capital, where many businesses remained closed Thursday morning, Moe, employed in a perfume store, has just lowered the curtain. “We don’t know what’s going to happen (…) We can’t take any risks”he told AFP.

The unprecedented protest movement led by youth, which swept the country in less than two weeks and took power by surprise, emerged shortly after the presentation to Parliament, on June 13, of the 2024-2025 budget, notably providing for a 16% VAT on bread and an annual tax of 2.5% on private vehicles.

Live ammunition

While previous days of protests demanding the withdrawal of these new taxes had taken place peacefully, Tuesday’s demonstration in Nairobi turned into a bloodbath, particularly around the National Assembly and Senate complex, where some buildings were set on fire and ransacked.

According to several NGOs, the police fired live ammunition to try to contain the crowd, which forced security barriers to enter the complex, an attack unprecedented in the history of the country, independent since 1963.

A total of 22 people were killed on Tuesday, including 19 in Nairobi, and more than 300 injured, the Kenyan human rights watchdog (KNHRC) said. “Why did they have to kill these young people? This bill is not worth people dying for (…) Some people are angry and might want revenge”laments Moe in front of his perfume shop, adding: “We are in uncharted territory. »

The president of the Kenya Medical Association, Simon Kigondu, said he had never seen before Tuesday “such a level of violence against unarmed people”. An official at the Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, the country’s main hospital, told AFP on Wednesday that he had received “160 people (…) some with superficial wounds, others with gunshot wounds”.

The spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, demanded on Wednesday that responsibilities be “clearly” established regarding the deaths of the demonstrators.

The protest movement continues

Because Tuesday’s deadly toll did not deter the protest movement, which transformed into a broader denunciation of the policies of President Ruto, elected in 2022 with the promise of promoting redistribution to the working classes. On Wednesday, a figure in the protest movement, journalist and activist Hanifa Adan, called for demonstrations again on Thursday during a white march “peaceful” in memory of the victims.

A few hours later, Mr Ruto, who the day before had said he wanted to firmly repress “violence and anarchy”finally announced the withdrawal of the draft budget, and said he wanted a national consultation with young people.

An announcement immediately qualified as“com operation” by Hanifa Adan, and greeted with suspicion by a number of demonstrators, who were preparing to march on Thursday in the center of Nairobi and in other cities in the country, such as Kisumu (West) and Mombasa (South).

The government, which had argued that the taxes were necessary to give the heavily indebted country some room for maneuver, announced on June 18 that it was withdrawing most of the measures. But the demonstrators demanded the complete withdrawal of the text.

“How can we manage our debt situation together? », questioned 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 country’s public debt stands at around 10,000 billion shillings (71 billion euros), or around 70% of GDP. The 2024-2025 budget provided for 4,000 billion shillings (29 billion euros) in spending, a record. Kenya, one of East Africa’s fastest growing economies, recorded year-on-year inflation of 5.1% in May.