Kenya’s anti-government protests killed at least one person and injured dozens on Tuesday, Kenyan media reported.
Kenyan police fired tear gas canisters on Tuesday to break up protests in Nairobi and other cities accusing the president of mismanagement and demanding his resignation, even as he sacked almost his entire cabinet last week.
Businesses in Nairobi remained closed, fearing a repeat of the looting that took place during demonstrations last week, when protesters stormed parliament and several people were killed by police.
Demonstrators blocked major roads, including the Nairobi-Namanga highway on the outskirts of Nairobi, where they lit bonfires on Tuesday morning. Demonstrations were also reported in the cities of Mombasa, Kisumu and Eldoret.
The protests came five days after President William Ruto sacked all but one cabinet minister and promised to form a broad, lean and efficient government in response to protesters’ demands.
The police chief, accused of brutality against demonstrators, resigned on Friday, but protesters remained adamant, saying they would continue protests until the president steps down.
The protests began on June 18 demanding the sacking of cabinet members for incompetence, corruption and display of luxury while ordinary people suffer a cost of living crisis. Protesters stormed parliament on June 25 after lawmakers passed a finance bill to raise taxes. Police opened fire, killing several people.
The media calls today’s clashes one of the biggest since the head of state cancelled the tax hike. It is known that in several cities protesters set fire to rubbish in the streets and engaged in open confrontation with the police. In total, at least 50 people have already died during the protests in Kenya since the beginning of June.
