The High Court of Kenya banned the use of tear gas and weapons of any kind against demonstrators, during the peaceful protests. The ruling, issued by Justice Mugure Thande following a petition filed by lawyer Saitabao Ole Kanchory, was deemed “reasoned and not frivolous, and that it is in the public interest that the orders sought be granted”.
Furthermore, the court issued an orderwhich prohibits the police from committing extrajudicial killings, arrests, abductions, detentions, harassment, intimidation, torture or any cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of protesters. During the anti-government protests of recent days, following the attack on the parliament in Nairobi, at least 26 people died, and there were more than 300 injured, the National Human Rights Commission reported.
“Was it necessary for them to die? This is what the relatives of those killed in protests against the budget law are asking themselves.”
This is the title of the newspaper The Nation in an article on its homepage after the protests against the budget law, in which 26 people died. Two deaths were recorded again yesterday, despite President William Ruto had already announced the withdrawal of the bill: new demonstrators have in fact poured into the streets of Nairobi to ask, this time, the resignation of the head of state, dealing with with the most serious crisis since he took office two years ago. Similar protests were also recorded in other cities in the country, including Mombasa, Kisumu and Migori.
The local press highlights that the spontaneous movement, born on social networks in particular against the government’s decision to increase taxes, would not have faith in Ruto’s announcement to withdraw the law and promote various budget cuts to keep tax revenues at previous levels.
Last Tuesday the National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) warned that, after monitoring the ongoing protests in Nairobi, it found “a shocking escalation of human rights violations, including excessive use of force and indiscriminate shooting against civilians by the police”. The Commission also denounced “a violent group of protesters”. The KNCHR then called on the authorities to “issue an immediate order to the police officers to put an end to killings, kidnappings and brutality”.
As of 2017, Kenya, one of the most economically advanced countries in East Africa, slipped into an economic crisis that caused the unemployment rate among those under 25 to rise from 7% to 13%, In 2024 it stands at 12.33%, according to World Bank data. If inflation is estimated at around 7%, the poverty rate affects 16% of the population.
