Kenyan riot police fired tear gas at protesters in Nairobi on Tuesday and demonstrations erupted in other cities across the country demanding the resignation of President William Ruto, following a week of deadly clashes in anti-tax protests.
Clouds of tear gas wafted over downtown Nairobi after protesters set fires on Waiyaki Way, the main road running through the centre of the capital, and threw stones at police in the central business district.
Outside the capital, hundreds of protesters marched in an ebullient mood through Mombasa, Kenya’s second-largest city, on the Indian Ocean coast. They carried palm fronds, blew on plastic horns and beat on drums, chanting “Ruto must go!”
Ruto, facing the most serious crisis of his nearly two-year-old presidency, has been caught between the demands of lenders such as the International Monetary Fund to cut deficits, and a hard-pressed population reeling from the soaring cost of living, Reuters reported.
Other protests took place in Kisumu, Nakuru, Kajiado, Migori, Mlolongo and Rongo, according to images broadcast on Kenyan television. In the southwestern town of Migori, protesters had set tyres on fire.
Dozens of Kenyans have been killed in demonstrations and clashes with police since June 18, most of them shot by officers last Tuesday, when some protesters tried to storm parliament to stop lawmakers voting on the tax increases.
Infuriated by the deaths – at least 39 according to the government-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNHCR) – many are demanding that Ruto step down.
Peoplesmind
