Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, has dawned this Thursday among the ravages caused by the intense protests that Kenya shook Wednesday, and that have left at least sixteen dead, according to Amnesty International figures. Calcinated buildings and smoking remains account for a night marked by looting and fires, unleashed during the demonstrations headed by young people who commemorated the first anniversary of the marches and demonstrations against the tax rise in which last year.
The mobilizations on Wednesday also expressed the rejection for the recent death of blogger Albert Ojwang, 31, arrested this month by police officers in the framework of an investigation initiated by a complaint by the deputy director of the National Police, Eliud Lagat.
Police triggered tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd in Nairobi, and there were also isolated clashes in other cities. Reuters registered several protesters injured in clashes with the police. Kenya Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said that this week’s protests were “terrorism disguised as dissent,” and accused protesters of trying a coup d’etat.
Also, this month there have been several marches after the death of the blogger, who was beaten in prison. Within the framework of the investigation, the Prosecutor’s Office gave the green light to the imputation for murder against six people, including three police officers. The six defendants declared themselves innocent.
The demonstrations of 2024, arising against, were led by young people belonging to the Z generation – born between the mid -nineties and the first years of the last decade – so the movement is informally self -domicing as generation Z. The crime climate was such that the marches of last year came to derive in the assault of the Parliament by a group of protesters.
The Executive Director of Amnesty International in Kenya, Ingu Houghton, has declared that the 16 people who died on Wednesday died from gunshot wounds, allegedly inflicted by security forces agents. The police have not reported victims or any shooting. Police spokesman Muchiri Nyaga did not respond to a request for comments.
“Look: they burned everything. So, please, because this happened because of the Gene generation. So, Gene generationtry to sit and talk to the government, ”said Ibrahim Hamisi, owner of one of the burning buildings.
The merchant Josephine Apondi said that some “thugs” had looted phones and electronic devices worth two million chelines (about 13,248 euros) of her Nairobi store. “The situation in our country is very difficult right now. Sometimes we arrive at night and we have not sold anything. And remember that this is something they have invested for so long,” he said.
The Kenyan media have also reported cases of destruction and looting in another 26 counties where protests occurred.
