NAIROBI: Ten people died across Kenya during anti-government demonstrations on Monday, a rights group said, following clashes between police and protesters in the capital Nairobi’s outskirts.
The Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) also accused the police of cooperating with criminal gangs, as a heavy deployment of the security forces kept much of central Nairobi deserted ahead of the annual marches to mark Saba Saba Day.
Meaning Seven Seven, the demonstrations commemorate July 7, 1990 when Kenyans rose up to demand a return to multi-party democracy after years of autocratic rule by then-president Daniel arap Moi.
The KNCHR said in a statement it “had documented ten fatalities, twenty-nine injuries” across 17 counties, but did not provide any further details.
From around midday, AFP saw running battles with groups of anti-riot police who fired teargas at small gatherings, with some of the crowd throwing rocks at officers and engaging in destructive looting.
Young Kenyans, frustrated over economic stagnation, corruption and police brutality, are once again engaging in protests that last month degenerated into looting and violence, leaving dozens dead and thousands of businesses destroyed.
Protesters accuse the authorities of paying armed vandals to discredit their movement, while the government has compared the demonstrations to an “attempted coup”.
On Monday, the streets of central Nairobi were quiet after police mounted roadblocks on the main roads, restricting entry to areas that were the epicentre of previous rallies.
Many businesses were closed for the day.
“I have never witnessed the city centre like this,” security guard Edmond Khayimba, 29, told AFP.
While the centre remained deserted, groups gathered on the outskirts in the afternoon with AFP reporters witnessing two people wounded, as well as looting and vandalism.
Protesters on a major highway clashed with police blocking their entry into the city, with the small crowds chanting: “Ruto Must Go”, a popular rallying cry against President William Ruto, and “wantam” meaning “one term”.
Again, AFP saw looting and property destruction in the surrounding area.
In its statement, the KNCHR noted the presence of “criminal gangs wielding crude weapons, including whips, wooden clubs, machetes, spears, bows and arrows” during the protests in a number of counties. It said that in Nairobi “these hooded gangs were seen operating alongside police officers”.
It also said it had documented 37 arrests.
In comments to AFP, the National Police Service (NPS) spokesperson said that the KNCHR statements “may lack factualness many times over”.
The spokesperson also reiterated that the NPS “would never work alongside individuals called ‘goons’ or criminal elements”, a reference to the armed men paid to disrupt demonstrations.
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