Clashes on Nairobi outskirts as police block marchers
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
Many people appeared to be staying home rather than attend the annual so-called Saba Saba Day, meaning Seven Seven, marches to 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.
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".
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
Again, AFP saw looting and property destruction in the surrounding area.
With much of Nairobi at a standstill, an interactive map showing at least 20 suspected police roadblocks was shared online and through WhatsApp groups.
Local TV stations also showed gatherings, some violent, in several towns across the country.
- 'Ruto Must Go' -
Social media and rising economic expectations have fanned anger over inequalities in a country where around 80 percent are trapped in informal, poorly paid jobs.
But a crackdown by the police -- at least 80 people have died in protests since June last year while dozens have been detained illegally -- has scared many off the streets.
On Sunday, men, some armed with sticks, forced their way into the compound of the Kenyan Human Rights Commission during a press conference calling for an end to "enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings".
Nairobi motorbike driver Rogers Onsomu, 32, told AFP that while the town was deserted, he hoped demonstrators would come out later, and criticised Ruto's government.
"What he has promised the country, (he) is not delivering," Onsomu said.
"The youths are protesting because of many things, like healthcare."
"As the constitution say, the power belongs to people," he said. "So this slogan of 'Ruto Must Go'. We will not relent and we will keep it going each and every day."
- 'The world is different' -
Since being elected in 2022, Ruto has forged an uneasy alliance with the main opposition leader Raila Odinga, leaving no clear challenger ahead of the next vote in 2027.
But each violent crackdown fuels further unrest, said activist Nerima Wako.
"Every time people organise a protest, they kill more people, so it just continues to feed off itself," she said.
The previous demonstration on June 25 -- intended to mark the peak of last year's deadly anti-government rallies -- turned violent and left 19 people dead, according to rights groups.
Police made hundreds of arrests.
Gabrielle Lynch, an African politics expert at Britain's University of Warwick, said the government appeared to be recycling tactics from the 1990s.
"But we're not in the nineties," she said. "They don't seem to have realised the world is different."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
22 minutes ago
- The Hindu
More than 20 civilians killed in Myanmar air strike on monastery: witnesses
More than 20 civilians, including children, were killed after a recent air strike on a monastery in central Myanmar, an anti-junta fighter and a resident told AFP on Saturday (July 11, 2025). Myanmar has been consumed by civil war since the military ousted a democratic government in 2021, and central Sagaing region has been particularly hard-hit, with the junta pummelling villages with air strikes targeting armed groups. The most recent occurred around 1:00 a.m. Friday in Lin Ta Lu village, when "the monastery hall where internally displaced people were staying" was hit with an air strike, said an anti-junta fighter, who requested anonymity for safety reasons. Also Read | Myanmar junta air strike kills 40: ethnic armed group, rescue worker He told AFP that 22 people were killed, including three children, while two were wounded and remained in critical condition at the hospital. "They had thought it was safe to stay at a Buddhist monastery," the anti-junta fighter said. "But they were bombed anyway." Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment. A local resident confirmed that the monastery hall was "completely destroyed", adding that he saw some bodies loaded into a car and transported to a cemetery at dawn on Friday after the air strike. He said when he went to the cemetery to take photos to help with identifying the dead, he counted 22 bodies. "Many of the bodies had head wounds or were torn apart. It was sad to see," said the resident, who also asked to remain anonymous. Sagaing region was the epicentre of a devastating magnitude-7.7 quake in March, which left nearly 3,800 people dead and tens of thousands homeless. After the quake, there was a purported truce between the junta and armed groups, but air strikes and fighting have continued, according to conflict monitors. In May, an air strike on a school in the village of Oe Htein Kwin in Sagaing killed 20 students and two teachers.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
Russia says UN food export deal collapsed due to western sanctions
The UN signed the agreement with Russia on July 22, 2022, with the aim of facilitating exports of Russian food and fertilisers, despite Western sanctions on Moscow read more Evacuees from Dobropillia and other areas near the town wait in a minivan of East SOS Charity Foundation to leave the town of Dobropillia, the eastern Donetsk region, on July 11, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP Russia said Saturday that its agreement with the United Nations to facilitate exports of Russian food and fertilisers had collapsed due to Western sanctions over Moscow's offensive in Ukraine. A day earlier, the UN said the three-year agreement, signed in 2022 in a bid to rein in global food prices, would end on July 22. A source close to the discussions, who asked not to be named, told AFP the deal 'will not be renewed' due to disagreements. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The UN signed the agreement with Russia on July 22, 2022, with the aim of facilitating exports of Russian food and fertilisers, despite Western sanctions on Moscow. Russia's foreign ministry said on Saturday that extending the deal was not 'envisaged'. 'Given the destructive line of Western capitals… to increase illegal unilateral sanctions against Russia, none of the objectives (of the agreement) have been successfully completed,' the ministry said in a statement. The economic sanctions imposed on Russia spared fertilisers and grain, but fear of accidentally ending up on the wrong side of the law had paralysed transporters and caused insurance premiums to skyrocket. After intense discussions, Russia and the UN established a framework to facilitate insurance and financial transactions that was compatible with US, British and European Union sanctions systems. But Russia – the world's largest fertiliser producer – had repeatedly complained the agreement was doing little to protect it from secondary sanction effects. Russia's foreign ministry said on Saturday that talks between two sides could continue for the sake 'of global food security'. A second agreement was also signed under the auspices of the UN on July 22, 2022, aimed at allowing the export of Ukrainian cereals blocked by Russia's war in the country. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD That deal was seen as more successful, but Moscow, angered over continued obstacles to trade in Russian agriculture products, refused to extend it after it lapsed in July 2023.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Myanmar: Armed fighters attack military base; more than 500 civilians and soldiers flee to Thailand
More than 500 people, including civilians and soldiers, crossed into Thailand on Saturday after ethnic fighters launched an attack on a military base in Myanmar, according to the Thai army. Myanmar has been locked in civil conflict since the 2021 military coup, with the junta facing resistance from ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy forces. Saturday's assault was carried out by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), which targeted a military base in Kayin state at around 3 pm local time (0800 GMT), the Thai military said in a statement. 'The Myanmar soldiers attempted to resist and called for supporting firepower to defend their position but were ultimately unable to hold the line,' the statement said. Thai officials said around 100 Myanmar soldiers and 467 civilians crossed into Thailand. They were disarmed and given medical help and humanitarian aid by Thai military and police. Thai forces have stepped up patrols along the border in western Tak province, warning of a possible 'violation of sovereignty by foreign armed forces'. Saw Thamain Tun, a leader of the KNLA's political wing, confirmed the fighting near the border and said joint forces had 'seized some front posts' from the Myanmar army. 'Some (Myanmar troops) defected to our joint forces, but some of them ran into Thailand,' he told AFP. Karen armed groups have long opposed the military and now play a major role in resisting junta control in the border regions. The civil war has displaced large numbers of people, with around 81,000 refugees or asylum seekers from Myanmar currently in Thailand, according to the United Nations. The KNLA has been fighting for decades for greater autonomy for the Karen people in southeastern Myanmar.
