Latest news with #KTN
Miami Herald
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Nairobi shuts down as Kenya police barricade city from protests
The streets of downtown Nairobi were deserted and many store fronts were soldered shut as workers and traders stayed away on fears that protests demanding the removal of President William Ruto may turn violent. Kenyan police had already placed road blocks on all major thoroughfares into the central business district of the capital before daybreak, keeping out thousands of mainly youthful demonstrators that had been expected to rally in the city center. At several flash points on the outskirts of the capital, they used teargas and water cannon to disburse crowds that lit bonfires. Protests were held in about a third of Kenya's 47 counties. Four people were killed in two Nairobi neighborhoods and paramedics haven't been able to reach the injured because of the roadblocks, broadcaster KTN reported. Monday's protests are commemorating the pivotal July 7 marches that heralded multi-party democracy for the East African nation 35 years ago. They also follow June 25 demonstrations in which 19 people were killed, some from police bullets, businesses looted and buildings torched. The latest mass action was sparked by police brutality, after the killing in custody of an online activist. Long-standing grievances stoking anger are the rising cost of living, joblessness, persistent corruption and wastage of public resources. 'The president does not listen to the people,' Samuel Zakayo said in the low-income northwestern Nairobi neighborhood of Kangemi. 'First of all listen to the ground and resign with immediate effect.' Economic protest Police laid rolls of barbed wire across roads leading to the president's official residence after protesters threatened to march there. According to a recent poll by TIFA Research, only 14% of Kenyans believe the nation is heading in the right direction compared with 37% in early 2023. 'We'll have an economic protest aimed at hurting the economy and shutting down the city in the future,' said Job Murima, an activist in Thika, 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the capital. 'This is aimed at hurting the government and the elite.' The upheaval follows last year's so-called Gen Z protests, in which more than 60 people died over two months. Those were triggered by government plans to introduce tax measures to raise about $2.7 billion for its budget, but quickly morphed into demands for Ruto's ouster. Ruto, in the third year of a five-year term, has said his government needs to increase domestic revenue to cut reliance on loans, although the growth of national debt has continued apace to about 11.4 trillion shillings ($88 billion). 'Kenya is a hard nut to crack in terms of getting people subdued,' constitutional lawyer and former governor, Kivutha Kibwana, told broadcaster NTV. 'I wish the government would adopt a different strategy in reaching these young people. You'll not defeat them by terrorizing them.' Yields on Kenyan eurobonds due 2032 and 2048 were down 4 basis points to 9.22% and 10.32% respectively by 4:32 p.m. in Nairobi. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Daily Maverick
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Kenya's President Ruto faces major challenge as nation's young people risk death for a better life
An analyst said high unemployment, the disproportionate and violent police response to protests, and the abductions and disappearances of government critics were radicalising young Kenyans. Kenya is caught in a spiral of violence in which protests against corruption, misgovernance and police brutality spark further police brutality and these, in turn, inspire further protests. Underlying this feedback loop is a deep and abiding malaise felt mainly by young people over their deteriorating living conditions and prospects. Wednesday's demonstrations, in which at least 16 people died in the capital, Nairobi, and elsewhere in the country, were held mainly to commemorate the violent suppression of anti-tax protests a year ago when about 60 people were killed. Those protests peaked on 25 June 2024 when protesters stormed the parliament while MPs inside passed legislation to raise taxes. This week's anniversary marches started peacefully but then turned violent with protesters engaging in running battles with the police, who fired tear gas and barricaded government buildings with barbed wire. The demonstrators were also protesting at the death of the teacher Albert Ojwang in police custody this month after he accused on social media the country's deputy police chief, Eliud Lagat, of corruption. Some were also protesting against the police shooting of the vendor Boniface Kariuki at close range during a protest over Ojwang's death. President William Ruto's government ordered TV and radio stations to stop live broadcasts of the protests to try to defuse them. When the TV stations NTV, KTN, K24 and Kameme refused to do so, they were taken off air. 'We face an unfortunate paradox as a country where more lives are being lost as the people seek justice for the lives already lost,' said the Law Society of Kenya's president, Faith Odhiambo, on X. 'Our hearts break for all the victims of the continued trend of police brutality and excesses.' But the demonstrators, mostly young, are also expressing a growing frustration at corruption, unemployment and rising living costs. The major protests of a year ago were provoked by Ruto's introduction of a Bill to substantially increase taxes to balance the government's books. The unexpectedly vigorous protests eventually persuaded him to withdraw the Bill. Some Kenyan analysts say he surreptitiously dispersed the tax increases in other legislation. However, the imminent national Budget for this year is expected to focus on increasing tax revenue via higher compliance rather than imposing new taxes, according to Africa Confidential. Although protests peaked last year over Ruto's tax hike, street demonstrations continued intermittently. On 12 June, police used tear gas to disperse crowds which had gathered near the National Assembly to protest at Ojwang's killing and attempts by the police to cover it up. And abductions and disappearances of government critics continued. Strangled The police initially claimed that Ojwang (31) had died from 'hitting his head against a cell wall', implying that he had committed suicide. But a postmortem showed he had been strangled and beaten to death. On 11 June, Ruto admitted that Ojwang had been killed 'at the hands of the police' and described the killing as 'heartbreaking and unacceptable'. The same day, Inspector-General Douglas Kanja apologised to the National Assembly for saying that Ojwang's injuries had been self-inflicted. That day too, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority chairperson, Ahmed Issack Hassan, told a National Assembly committee that there had been '20 deaths in police custody in the last four months'. On Tuesday, prosecutors charged six people, including three police officers, for their role in killing Ojwang. But the move did not satisfy protesters, who complained that the three officers were taking the rap for Deputy Police Chief Lagat, who they believed was responsible for Ojwang's death. Some analysts believe Ruto's decision to acknowledge that the police were guilty was an encouraging if somewhat belated sign of accountability on his part. Others believe it was a sign of his anxiety about the growing protests and the need to deflect them, rather than evidence of genuine penitence. That it has taken so long for Ruto to finger the police suggests complicity in their previous excesses. One analyst, who did not wish to be named, said high unemployment, the disproportionate and violent police response, and the abductions and disappearances of government critics were radicalising young Kenyans. He noted that 60% of the population was under 25, and 75% under 35. 'Their grievances are legit. They need their country to work, yet Ruto is not doing the bare minimum to make the country work. He keeps shooting himself in the foot with 'reforms' that really ignore country context.' Protesters also felt that Ruto had lied to quell last year's protests with cosmetic reforms, such as firing the Cabinet, yet returning most of the ministers to office; withdrawing the finance Bill; and surreptitiously sneaking the bad proposals into other Bills. The protesters were also not convinced by Ruto's stratagem of bringing his erstwhile political rival, Raila Odinga, into a broad-based government. 'In short, Ruto squandered public trust and the political capital with which he came to power [in 2023] and now he believes using fiat and force, and increased surveillance will manage the country. 'He keeps on applying Band-Aid, while the young people, most of them who have already given up, want him to do the right thing. He threatens to kill them, and they tell him they are ready to be martyred,' said the analyst. DM
Morocco World
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
Nationwide Anti-Government Protest Leaves 16 Deaths in Kenya
Rabat – Amnesty Kenya, a Human Rights organisation, has claimed that at least 16 people have been killed in nationwide protests. This comes a year after the #RejectFinanceBill2024 protests. Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets across Kenya to oppose William Ruto's government, the rising cost of living, and continued police brutality. Large crowds headed to the State House, which is the official residence of the Kenyan President. The national television channels KTN and NTV were ordered not to broadcast the protests. Demonstrations had also been occurring across the country in cities like Nyeri, Mombasa, Kisii, and Meru, causing violence to erupt across the nation. This has led to violent clashes between protestors and the state security forces. Police have used tear gas and water cannons to crack down on the activists. In Nairobi, video footage has shown plumes of white tear gas being used, sending protestors scrambling for cover. There have been reports of 400 people injured, including demonstrators, police officers, and journalists. Nairobi's Kenyatta National Hospital has received dozens of wounded people. The hospital made an announcement stating that '107 people have been admitted with gunshot injuries.' Amnesty Kenya and Kenyan Human Rights organisations have stated that the number of fatalities has risen to around sixteen, with protestors being targeted with live and rubber bullets. These protests have taken place a year after the large-scale clashes last year against the Kenyan Finance Bill. Last year's protests had led to the storming of parliament and at least 60 deaths. Protestors have been expressing widespread anger against the Ruto administration. William Ruto came to power after a populist campaign promising to work for the poorer Kenyan people. The cost of living in Kenya has also increased in recent years, despite tax hikes, and police brutality has been widespread. After the protests last year, there have been countless reports of abductions across the republic, and this month, a blogger died in police custody. President Ruto stated that 'protests should not be used to destroy peace in Kenya. We do not have another country to go to when things go wrong. It is our responsibility to keep our country safe.' These protests have once again put the Ruto government under pressure, with widespread anger and discontent against his administration.
