5 killed, dozens injured; people march towards Kenya Parliament as protests against tax hike turn violent

NAIROBI: The protests in Kenya against the fresh tax hike turned extremely violent, with several casualties reported and protesters flooding the street around the Kenyan Parliament, CNN reported.

At least five people were killed and 31 injured in protests in Kenya on Tuesday, CNN reported, citing a joint statement released by several human rights groups. It was released by Amnesty International Kenya, the Kenya Medical Association, the Law Society of Kenya and the Police Reforms Working Group Kenya.

“Despite the assurance by the government that the right to assembly would be protected and facilitated, today’s protests have spiralled into violence. Human rights observers and medical officers have reported several incidents of human rights violations”, the statement said.

According to the statement, at least five people were shot dead. At least 31 have been injured, with 13 of these people shot with live bullets, four with rubber bullets, and three hit with launcher canisters. However, there has not been any official statement by the Kenyan police on this.

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As violence rages, the ambassadors of 13 Western embassies in Kenya, in a joint statement, said they were “shocked” by the scenes around Kenya’s Parliament on Tuesday. They said they were “deeply concerned” by allegations that some protesters had been abducted by the security forces and called for “restraint on all sides,” the New York Times reported.

Embassies and high commissions from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States said that they “are especially shocked by the scenes witnessed outside the Kenyan Parliament.”

Amid violent protests, several cases of internet disruptions have also been reported. The internet watchdog group NetBlocks is reporting a major disruption to internet connectivity in Kenya, just hours after protesters marched towards Parliament.

However, Kenya’s Communications Authority said on Monday, that it had “no intention whatsoever to shut down internet traffic or interfere with the quality of connectivity.”

The contentious bill was introduced by the government of President William Ruto in May to raise revenue and limit borrowing in an economy facing a heavy debt burden. But, the legislation has received sharp criticism from Kenyans, who claim that it adds punitive new taxes and raises others on a wide range of goods and services that would escalate living costs, and detractors have pointed to corruption and mismanagement of funds, as reported by NYT.

President Ruto now has two weeks to sign the legislation into law or send it back to Parliament for further amendments.

India has also issued an advisory for its nationals in Kenya, as protests against a tax hike turned violent, causing a rampage in the African nation. The Indian Embassy in Kenya on Tuesday, has advised the Indian nationals there to “exercise utmost caution, restrict non-essential movement and avoid the areas affected by the protests and violence till the situation clears up.”

“In view of the prevailing tense situation, all Indians in Kenya are advised to exercise utmost caution, restrict non-essential movement and avoid the areas affected by the protests and violence till the situation clears up,” the Embassy stated.

Earlier in the day, Auma Obama, the half-sister of former US President Barack Obama, was teargassed live on air on Tuesday, CNN reported. The incident occurred when Auma Obama, who is a Kenyan-British activist, was in a chat with CNN’s Larry Madowo with a group of teenage protesters. (ANI)