Death toll reaches 39 in Kenya's anti-government protests
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Anti-government protests that erupted last month due to planned tax hikes have led to 39 deaths and 361 reported injuries.
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Demonstrators protest against Kenya's controversial finance bill in Nairobi on June 18, 2024. (AP)
39 people have been killed and 361 reportedly injured in Kenya's nationwide anti-government protests, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights announced in a statement on Monday.
The demonstrations, which erupted last month on June 18 following President William Ruto's planned tax hikes, resulted in dozens of casualties, in addition to 32 cases of enforced or involuntary disappearances and 627 arrests.
In a television interview on Sunday, Ruto claimed that 19 people were killed during the protests led by youth organization Generation Z, reiterating he was not to blame.
Despite the president's withdrawal of the contentious tax hike bill last week, demonstrations continue to persist across the country.
"The Commission continues to condemn in the strongest terms possible the unwarranted violence and force that was inflicted on protesters, medical personnel, lawyers, journalists and on safe spaces such as churches, medical emergency centres, and ambulances," said the statement, adding, "We maintain that the force used against the protesters was excessive and disproportionate."
Police fire on protesters
At least 10 people were killed, and many others were injured last Tuesday when police fired on hundreds of protesters who stormed the parliament compound in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. The protesters were demonstrating against recently passed legislation that increased taxes.
Lawmakers were forced to seek refuge in underground tunnels as the demonstrators breached the security perimeter.
In a chaotic scene, protesters were seen inside the parliament building, standing on the speaker's chair, while fires burned outside, including one that engulfed a police vehicle. Angry youths set fire to parts of the parliament and the Nairobi governor's office within the capital complex.
