NAIROBI: At least 10 people were hospitalised with gunshot injuries during rallies in Kenya on Wednesday to mark the one-year anniversary of protests against a tax bill that turned deadly, according to a hospital source and a report by Citizen Television.
It was not immediately clear who had shot them.
Thousands of Kenyans took to the streets earlier in the day to commemorate demonstrations last year that left at least 60 people dead and culminated in the storming of the national parliament.
Police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters in the capital Nairobi and blocked incoming traffic towards the central business district, the epicentre of the protests, according to local TV stations and a Reuters witness.
Kenyan police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga did not respond to a request for comment on the gunshot injuries.
Although last year’s protests faded after President William Ruto withdrew proposed tax hikes, public anger over the use of excessive force by security agencies has not abated, with fresh demonstrations this month over the death of a blogger in police custody.
Six people, including three police officers, were charged with murder on Tuesday over the killing of 31-year-old blogger and teacher, Albert Ojwang. All have pleaded not guilty.
On Wednesday, a source at Nairobi’s Kenyatta National Hospital told Reuters that the facility had received 11 patients with gunshot injuries.
As the protests widened to other towns, the Communications Authority of Kenya ordered a halt to live broadcasts of the demonstrations, according to an official post on X by the government spokesperson.
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LIVE BROADCAST OF RALLIES HALTED
Ann Kananu, chair of the Kenya Editors Guild, told the KTN channel that the order to halt live broadcasts was a violation of Kenya’s constitution.
On Nairobi’s Thika Highway, security forces deployed tear gas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of peaceful protesters.
Isolated clashes were reported in the port city of Mombasa, according to Kenya’s NTV channel, with protesters also gathering in the towns of Kitengela, Kisii, Matuu and Nyeri.
The blogger Ojwang’s death has become a lightning rod for Kenyans still mourning those who perished at last year’s demonstrations, blamed on security forces, against a backdrop of dozens of unexplained disappearances.
“We are fighting for the rights of our fellow youths and Kenyans and the people who died since June 25… we want justice,” Lumumba Harmony, a protester, told Reuters in Nairobi.
Members of the public and opposition leaders placed wreaths outside parliament on Wednesday.
The unprecedented scenes on June 25, 2024, showing police firing at protesters as they broke through barriers to enter parliament, created the biggest crisis of Ruto’s presidency and sparked alarm among Kenya’s international allies.
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