For the second time in not up to a week, protests have erupted in Nairobi and other major cities in Kenya, bringing businesses to a standstill and causing major destruction around the country. A police official who sort anonymity said six people were killed, and more than 10 others were taken to hospital. He said 3 people were killed in Mlolongo city in Machakos county, 2 in Kitengela town near Nairobi, and 1 in the town of Emali on the highway to the port city of Mombasa. The official said the six who were shot for disrupting businesses, without elaborating. A health worker at Eagle Nursing Home clinic in Nairobi’s Kangemi neighbourhood said more than 50 school children in the capital city, Nairobi were tear-gassed.
The children aged 10 to about 15 had been in shock, said Alvin Sikuku.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who lost last year’s election to President William Ruto, has repeatedly called for civil disobedience and weekly nationwide protest against President William Ruto’s government and recent tax hikes and rising cost of living.
Odinga told journalists that such protests will continue, and he accused police of blocking access to the site where he had planned to make a speech.
“All our engagements are peaceful until the police show up,” Odinga said.
Ruto, sworn in last September, has inherited an economy grappling with debts, inflation and weakening shilling. His government says tax hikes, which include a doubling of the fuel tax and the introduction of a levy to fund affordable housing, are crucial to deal with growing debt repayments and to create job opportunities.
