Kenya: Anti-government protesters again out in force

Police in Nairobi fired tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators on Tuesday as renewed protests against President William Ruto got underway. Activists had called for a "total shutdown" of Kenya in a bid to pressure Ruto to step down.

Although weeks of sometimes violent demonstrations saw Ruto withdraw a plan for $2.7 billion (€2.48 billion) in tax hikes and fire almost his entire cabinet, protestors continue to blame the president for misgovernance, corruption, and the deaths of more than a dozen people after police violently cracked down on demonstrators.

Protests, led mostly by young people, were also held in Kitengela and Mombasa on Tuesday, with people chanting "Ruto must go" and "Stop killing us."

Reuters news agency reporters on the ground described the protests as some of the biggest so far, suggesting that public anger was not letting up.

Kenya's debt crisis tests President Ruto

The waves of protest were the first major test for Ruto since coming to power in 2022.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reported on Tuesday that 50 people have been killed so far, mostly in Nairobi. The organization added that another 413 had been injured and called for a "zero tolerance directive on human rights violations" for security forces.

Ruto's office had announced "multi-sectoral" talks for this week to address grievances raised by the protesters, but showed no sign of moving forward with this plan. 

Currently, Kenya has to spend about 30% of its public revenues on its crushing level of debt, and its citizens have been reeling from a skyrocketing cost of living.

Despite this, Ruto on Monday accused foreign entities like the US-based Ford Foundation of inciting the "violence and mayhem" across the country. He had previously blamed "criminals" for the protests.

es/ab (AFP, Reuters)