On Wednesday, Kenyan police used tear gas to disperse protesters who disobeyed a prohibition on opposition gatherings in order to voice their objections to increasing prices and new taxes.
The city of Nairobi was heavily police-surveilled, and stores were closed. Police used tear gas to disperse protesters who were throwing stones at them in the Mathare slum. They were also employed to scatter protesters in Mombasa, a port city in the south.
The leader of the nation’s police force on Tuesday forbade protests organised by the opposition on the grounds that they had not notified the authorities, and he asked the populace to refrain from attending these “illegal meetings.”
Last Friday, demonstrations against the government of President William Ruto took place in several cities in response to a call from opposition leader Raila Odinga.
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In Nairobi, the police fired tear gas at Mr Odinga’s convoy. They did the same to disperse rallies in Mombasa (south) and Kisumu (west).
At least three people were killed following the demonstrations, according to hospital and police sources. Kenya’s National Human Rights Commission has called for a “thorough investigation into all reported cases of ‘police brutality'”.
On Saturday, activists claimed that police fired tear gas at civil society representatives, including former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, who were demanding the release of dozens of people arrested during the protests.
Raila Odinga’s Azimio alliance intends to organise weekly demonstrations against the policies of William Ruto’s government. Mr Odinga, who lost the August 2022 presidential election to his rival, claims that the election was “stolen” from him.
At the beginning of July, President Ruto promulgated a finance bill introducing a series of new taxes, despite criticism from the opposition and the population of a country hit by high inflation.
In particular, the law provides for an increase in VAT on fuel from 8% to 16%, as well as an unpopular levy on salaries to finance a low-cost housing programme. Initially planned at 3%, it has been reduced to 1.5%.
