Kenyan police fired tear gas in the capital Nairobi on Thursday, injuring several journalists as small groups of demonstrators gathered for a protest announced as a new day of action against controversial President William Ruto.
The East African country, normally one of the most stable in the region, has been rocked for weeks by sometimes deadly protests against Ruto’s two-year-old government, which is led mostly by young Kenyans.
While Ruto oversaw the swearing-in of the newly formed cabinet, riot police were deployed in large numbers in the central business district. Many shops were closed while roadblocks were set up on major roads.
Only a few dozen protesters gathered in the center of Nairobi and chanted “We are peaceful.”
But police used tear gas several times, injuring several journalists, including two AFP employees who said officers fired tear gas grenades directly at them.
The International Press Association of East Africa said at least three journalists were shot at with tear gas grenades “at close range”.
The Nairobi-based group said it “condemns these violent attacks on journalists simply for doing their jobs. This is unacceptable and contrary to the basic principles of democracy.”
Phil Chetwynd, global news director at Agence France-Presse, said: “It is completely unacceptable to attack journalists while they are doing their job. In the case of the AFP staff, both were clearly identifiable as journalists.”
Police said they arrested 174 “suspects” in Nairobi, Kitengela Rift Valley and Emali-Makueni County on Thursday.
– “Unheard of violent practices” –
The international human rights organization Reporters Without Borders published a report on Thursday in which it said it had documented police violence and attempts at intimidation against journalists covering the seven-week protests, including the use of rubber bullets, tear gas and arbitrary arrests.
“The authorities must immediately put an end to these outrageous practices of violence and the resulting impunity,” said the group, known by its French acronym RSF.
At least 60 people have been killed since the demonstrations began in mid-June. The police are accused of using excessive force, sometimes with live ammunition. Dozens of people are missing, say human rights groups.
Wanjiku Stephens, a 29-year-old fashion stylist, said she has taken to the streets since the rallies began to demand “good governance and accountability.”
“I was beaten,” Stephens, wearing a light blue bathrobe, ski goggles and several masks, told AFP in Nairobi. Police brutality should be “a thing of the past, we should not be seeing it in 2024,” she added.
Kenya’s acting police chief Gilbert Masengeli warned on Wednesday that “criminals” intended to infiltrate the demonstrations, which have repeatedly degenerated into violence and chaos.
What began as a peaceful demonstration by young people against the controversial planned tax increases expanded into a large-scale action against Ruto and what many citizens see as wasteful government spending and corruption.
In the past, organizers had accused “thugs” of hijacking their plans for peaceful actions and causing unrest.
– ‘New chapter’ –
To deal with the worst crisis of his presidency, Ruto has taken a series of measures to address popular anger, including reversing tax increases, reshuffling his cabinet and making deep budget cuts.
He said Thursday’s appointment of a new, “broad-based” cabinet – which includes four opposition leaders and a number of previously dismissed ministers – marked the beginning of a “new chapter” for Kenya’s governance and development.
Ruto took office in September 2022 after winning a hard-fought and divisive election against long-time opposition leader Raila Odinga, pledging to fight for Kenya’s poor and oppressed.
But he finds himself in a dilemma: on the one hand, international donors are demanding that the state finances be shored up so that the country can service its enormous debt of $78 billion, and on the other, they are demanding that ordinary Kenyans, who are struggling with the cost of living crisis, step up their efforts.
Although economic growth remains relatively strong and is estimated by the central bank to be 5.4 percent this year, a third of the country’s 52 million inhabitants live in poverty.
Edwin Kagia, a 24-year-old man trying to make a living selling masks, said Ruto should be given a chance.
“We have to wait. What Kenya needs now is to give our president time,” he told AFP.
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