Youth-led protests erupt again in Kenya over police brutality and poor governance
The protests, which coincided with the first anniversary of demonstrations opposing tax hikes that left 60 people dead and 20 others missing, followed last week's rallies that demanded answers for the unexplained death of a Kenyan blogger while in police custody.
Frustration is growing, especially among Generation Z, over police violence, economic struggles, and government mismanagement.
The Communications Authority of Kenya has directed local media to stop all live broadcasts of the protests halfway through the day as President William Ruto warned that violence wouldn't be tolerated.
Many turned to social media to share updates and remember slain protesters. Others posted anti-government messages and memes. On the streets, some could be seen offering protesters water.
Here's why unrest is gripping Kenya:
Police brutality
Calls for accountability have grown louder in Kenya after a street hawker was killed during last week's protests. A Kenyan court has given detectives 15 days to complete investigations into two police officers suspected of the shooting.
This came as young people flooded social media platforms throughout the week with commemorations of protesters killed last year. At the time, Ruto apologized and vowed to end police brutality as the top police chief resigned.
'Not a single officer has been held to account,' said Hussein Khaled, a human rights activist, adding that people took to the streets 'to demand justice in terms of compensation ... arrest of those officers who were involved ... police reforms because too many Kenyans are losing their lives' to police brutality.
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(Below) 2016: 105 tonnes of ivory and one tonne of rhino horn are set on fire in Kenya. (Getty Images) (Wikimedia) *** CITES did eventually help save the African elephant. Similar Appendix 1 and 2 listings have effectively protected endangered snails, whales, trees, flowers, birds, insects and animals. (See the story alongside for more on this.) The agreement has played a significant role in the decline of commercial whaling and the trade in whale products. It has helped dramatically reduce traffic in rare birds, particularly parrots and raptors. The agreement now lists close to 40,000 species, making it the largest one of its kind. CITES works because it has binding trade controls, unlike, say, the Convention on Biological Diversity, which relies on members to set their own targets, if any. CITES has sanctioned non-compliant countries by suspending all wildlife trade with them. It is nonetheless a trade treaty, and is helpless without government support. So it can do little when armed groups, government officials and political elites use poaching to fund their operations or feather their nests. The problem is replicated for other endangered species. Tiger poaching in India and other parts of Asia is fuelled by demand in increasingly affluent Vietnam, and by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine around the world. Tiger bones, rhinoceros horns, bear bile and pangolin scales remain heavily-trafficked items. Increased affluence, combined with growing nativist pride in China and other parts of East Asia, have driven up demand. Meanwhile, countries lobby extensively to keep species out of Appendix 1. CITES is an imperfect tool, in the face of such pressures. But it has proven to be an important and effective one, and the best we have come up with so far.
