An opposition supporter prepares to throw a rock at police officers during a protest against inflation and power in Kenya in Nairobi, March 27, 2023 (AFP/Luis Tato)
A man was shot dead in western Kenya on Monday, in a new day of clashes between security forces and supporters of opponent Raila Odinga, who had called for anti-government and anti-inflation protests despite the authorities’ ban.
It is the second day in a week of the rally against President William Ruto at the call of Mr Odinga, his hapless presidential rival last August, who continues to claim it has been “stolen” and that the current administration is “illegitimate”.
In Kisumu, an opposition stronghold, “one person has been shot dead,” said George Rae, director of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Hospital, adding that it was a “young man.”
The institution responsible for monitoring the actions of the police announced that it would launch an investigation into the death of this man, who was “allegedly killed by the police,” according to the press release.
According to her, two men in Kisumu and Migori districts, still in the west of the country, “were injured by shots allegedly fired by the police”.
Already last week, on the first day of the mobilization, in Maseno, in the same region, a demonstrator was killed by the police.
Earlier on Monday, the convoy of 78-year-old opposition veteran Raila Odinga was attacked by police with tear gas and water cannons in the popular Kawangware district of the capital Nairobi.
“Police brutality against peaceful protesters escalated today,” Odinga tweeted, urging his supporters to mobilize further on Thursday.
In Kibera, Nairobi’s largest slum, protesters set fire to tires and threw stones at security forces. “We don’t have cornmeal!”, a staple in the country, the demonstrators chanted in front of the police.
Journalists were attacked by gangs and some press vehicles were hit by tear gas fired by police. These attacks “cannot be tolerated” and “threaten democracy,” said the Media Council of Kenya, an association of journalists.
– Overgrown Farm –
A protester during a rally against the rising cost of living in Kibera, south of Nairobi, on March 27, 2023 (AFP / YASUYOSHI CHIBA)
A large farm owned by former President Uhuru Kenyatta on the outskirts of Nairobi has been raided by looters, according to local media. Videos show hundreds of people cutting down trees, stealing livestock and setting fire to a property. Mr Kenyatta had backed Mr Odinga in the presidential elections.
“They are cowards, they sent thugs to attack Uhuru Kenyatta’s farm,” Raila Odinga said, also claiming one of his shops was looted. “We condemn these acts,” he continued, blaming the government.
However, the situation remained calm in the rest of the capital, particularly in the neighborhoods where clashes erupted last week and where a large police force was deployed for the risky day.
Riot commandos are occupying strategic points in Nairobi and patrolling the streets where many businesses have remained closed.
Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga addresses supporters in Nairobi, March 27, 2023 (AFP/SIMON MAINA)
Raila Odinga on Sunday maintained his call to demonstrate every Monday and Thursday against the effects of inflation and called for a show of force on the streets this Monday despite Police Commissioner Japhet Koome’s ban on gatherings for the day.
Mr Koome had warned that law enforcement would not allow “hooligans to come to town to loot and vandalize people’s property and businesses”.
-Ruto in Europe-
Last Monday, during the previous mobilization marked by clashes between protesters and security forces, some 31 police officers were injured and more than 200 people arrested, including several senior opposition officials, and Mr Odinga’s convoy had already been the target of tears, gas and Water cannon.
Kenya’s President William Ruto, November 28, 2022 in Nairobi (AFP / Yasuyoshi CHIBA)
President William Ruto, currently on a trip to Europe, asked the opposition leader on Thursday to end the protests.
Given high commodity prices, many Kenyans are struggling to feed themselves. Inflation hit 9.2% in February, according to government data, and the region’s record drought is depriving millions of people of resources and food.
Kenya’s energy regulator has announced an increase in electricity prices from April, while Mr Ruto said in January there would be no increase.
A woman with a little girl walks past police officers at Kibera slum in Nairobi on March 27, 2023 (AFP/YASUYOSHI CHIBA)
During the election campaign, he presented himself as a champion of the oppressed and promised to improve the lot of ordinary Kenyans. But he has since scrapped fuel and cornmeal subsidies, which have seen prices soar.