Kenya descended into turmoil on Monday as police clashed with demonstrators in a fresh wave of anti-government protests that turned violent, leaving at least 10 people dead.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, a state-funded body, confirmed the fatalities, one of the deadliest days in the ongoing nationwide demonstrations.
Authorities imposed some of the toughest restrictions yet, sealing off major entry points into Nairobi, barricading parliament and the president’s office with razor wire, and blocking vehicles and most pedestrians from accessing the city center. Businesses shuttered across the capital as tensions mounted, AP reported.
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Demonstrators, many of them youth, lit fires in the streets and hurled stones at security forces. In response, police fired live rounds and launched tear gas, wounding multiple protesters. Witnesses reported scenes of chaos, including one group of young men carrying a blood-soaked victim they said had been shot. Protests took place in 17 of Kenya’s 47 counties.
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The unrest marks the latest chapter in weeks of civil resistance against what demonstrators call police brutality, economic hardship, and government corruption. Protesters have called for President William Ruto to resign, accusing his administration of failing to curb rising living costs while enabling corruption at the highest levels.
The protests coincided with Saba Saba (July 7), a symbolic date in Kenya’s democratic history. It commemorates the landmark 1990 protests against President Daniel arap Moi’s one-party regime, ironically, Ruto’s political mentor. That movement led to the introduction of multiparty democracy in 1992. Saba Saba, Swahili for “Seven Seven,” remains a rallying cry for civic resistance.
“There is no reversing the Gen Z Saba Saba-like spirit,” said Macharia Munene, a professor of history and international relations at United States International University Africa. “Attempt to criminalize protests is reactive and will not work. It instead makes the government appear retrogressive and desperate enough to subvert the constitution.”
Security forces in several areas, including Kitengela on the outskirts of Nairobi, used tear gas to break up crowds that had lit bonfires and blocked roads. Protesters decried what they described as an assault on their rights and livelihoods.
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“They have blocked the roads, blocking us from our work. I am a roadside vendor and I am supposed to get to town and buy merchandise to sell along the road,” said protester Caleb Okoth. “What do they want us to eat? People are being beaten like dogs for protesting for their rights.”
Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen defended the government’s hardline stance, saying on Sunday that police would be fully deployed to maintain public order. He previously instructed officers to “shoot on sight” anyone who approached police stations during protests, a controversial directive issued after demonstrators set several stations ablaze.
Public Service Minister Geoffrey Ruku insisted that government operations would not be affected and directed all public servants to report to duty, despite the widespread unrest.
The current wave of protests was ignited by the recent death of a popular blogger in police custody. Public anger surged further on June 17, when a police officer was filmed shooting a man at close range. Less than two weeks later, on June 25, at least 19 people were killed and over 400 injured during nationwide demonstrations timed to mark one year since Kenya’s anti-tax revolt when protesters stormed parliament and over 60 people died.
