Death toll from Kenya’s latest anti-government protest surges to 31

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00:00The United Nations is expressing serious concern over the deaths of at least 31 people in Kenya

00:06where police and protesters clashed during anti-government demonstrations the previous day.

00:11The violence erupting on Sabah Sabah Day, which means 7 at 7,

00:15when demonstrators annually marked the events of July 7, 1919

00:19when Kenyans rose up to demand a return to multi-party democracy

00:23after years of autocratic rule by the then-president Daniel Arab Moy.

00:27Protests are ongoing against the present-day government of the ruling man, William Ruto.

00:37Life has almost returned to normal in Nairobi this Tuesday,

00:41a day after violent clashes between protesters and police officers.

00:45Shops opened as usual and locals are back to work after an obligatory day off.

00:51I didn't work yesterday, so I didn't earn any money at all.

00:54I hope in any case that the government, whether they like it or not, has heard the people's demands.

01:00Authorities closed the capital's main roads on Monday to dissuade protesters from reaching the centre of town.

01:06Every year, thousands celebrate Sabah Sabah Day,

01:09remembering the nationwide protests on 7 July 1990,

01:13when Kenyans had filled the streets demanding free elections.

01:16Since last year, the commemoration has been linked to a wave of protest against President William Ruto,

01:21accused of corruption and police brutality.

01:24Not without reason, on the 25th of June this year,

01:27several protesters were killed in clashes with the police.

01:31Last time the police came with violence, they should come in peace.

01:35Looking at these trucks, it's clear they want violence.

01:38The situation was extremely tense yesterday and the protests rapidly descended into violence.

01:43As protesters threw stones at the police, authorities responded with firing tear gas grenades.

01:50Violence on both sides, which was condemned by the United Nations.

01:54We are deeply troubled by the killings yesterday of at least 10 people,

01:58as well as looting and destruction of property in Kenya,

02:01as police and other security forces responded to violent protests in the capital of Nairobi.

02:06Lethal ammunition, rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons were used.

02:10Hundreds of protesters were also arrested.

02:14The divorce between President Ruto and Kenyan youth has rarely been more apparent.

02:20And of course, since the UN's Riviera Shamdazi was interviewed there,

02:24the toll has gone up from 10 to 31.

02:26Let's bring in Irungu Houghton, who is from Amnesty Kenya, joining us from Nairobi.

02:31Irungu, thanks for being with us.

02:32The UN deeply concerned, deeply troubled by what's happening in Kenya.

02:37What is Amnesty Kenya's take on the situation?

02:40Amnesty International would share the concerns of the United Nations.

02:46You know, the figures of 31 dead, probably about 20 out of the 47 counties,

02:52were paralyzed yesterday by running battles and violence by the police and also criminals.

02:59And we've verified, you know, just over 150 injuries as well with the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

03:08And what's really ironic about this is that they had been called to commemorate another day 35 years ago

03:15when 20 people had died, so 10 less than we saw yesterday.

03:19And a similar number had been charged in a court of law.

03:22And it just seems that we've not been able to facilitate protests in Kenya over the last 35 years.

03:29They just seem to turn very violent and very dangerous.

03:33At an earlier point in what has been a sequence of protests ongoing,

03:37the president tried to clamp down on any media coverage of what was going on.

03:42That raised alarm in many countries of a kind of a hush up of what was happening

03:46and then what might be happening when the cameras are switched off.

03:49Yes, I'm wondering whether President Ruto is under a great deal of pressure right now,

03:54given what is happening on the streets and given the accusations being made against his administration.

04:00Yes, I mean, although much of the focus has been on violent policing or police brutality,

04:05the obvious driver is not necessarily policing.

04:09It's actually politics and the sense that the government has lost, you know, popular support within the country.

04:15And therefore, what is essentially unfolding is really a kind of rebellion against his government.

04:25Yesterday, we saw, you know, Nairobi basically shut down.

04:29And something like about 14 million, I think it's about $140 million worth of business

04:36was essentially just interrupted as we saw the city shut down.

04:41For many of us, the concern has been that we don't seem to see any new strategies

04:47to be able to reach out and reach agreement with the protesters.

04:53What they're asking for essentially is that the officers that have killed Kenyans,

04:58I think about 120 Kenyans, Kenyan protesters over the last two years,

05:03that those officers need to be brought to the book.

05:05The officers and their commanders that have been enforceably disappearing

05:10or abducting, you know, critics of the government,

05:14they need to be brought to book and the multi-agency team needs to be disbanded.

05:18These are the kind of demands that we saw over this week.

05:22I think the other thing that, you know, we do have to see is the police begin to find new ways

05:27of facilitating protests.

05:29They failed at least three important tests yesterday.

05:34The first was the test of facilitating protests, protecting the protests.

05:38And essentially the roadblocks that they placed around different capital or different cities

05:43forced the violence into residential neighborhoods.

05:47And we have at least, you know, two minors who have been killed.

05:51One of them is Bridget Jockey, who was 12 years old.

05:53She was shot through a wall in her house as she was watching television.

06:00And she was one of the many children who couldn't go to school that day.

06:03So we are seeing a heavy toll in terms of violence.

06:07This is absolutely horrific what you're just describing, Eruno.

06:10I can't begin to imagine how that family must be feeling right now.

06:15Many people angry about corruption.

06:18We're hearing people complaining about lack of opportunity for young people.

06:21But it sounds like there's something more endemic happening there within Kenyan society.

06:26Can you put your finger on that?

06:29Well, I think, you know, the first point that you've raised, which is the economic distress,

06:33that a lot of young people just don't see any future in Kenya anymore.

06:37They are concerned about the cost of living.

06:40They are concerned about the lack of jobs.

06:41They increasingly feel that the government is not interested in generating employment or opportunities for them.

06:48And therefore, when they see these large, ostestatious, you know, expenditure patterns,

06:55they are very concerned about their future.

06:58And I think that's the underlying concern that many young people have at the moment.

07:01I think the violence that we're seeing on the streets and in terms of the enforced disappearances,

07:08that is just compounding the situation so that every time a person is shot,

07:13like, for example, a vendor, Karyoki, who was simply trying to sell COVID-style masks to protesters and even police officers,

07:22he was shot at close range and about a week later died of his injuries.

07:28And much of Kenya has seen that footage.

07:31Every time we see one of those cases or we hear about children like Bridget and Jorki,

07:36the country gets even more radicalised and the possibility of, I guess, a consensus or a breakthrough,

07:43a political breakthrough gets slimmer and slimmer.

07:45We're two years away from the election, so it's actually going to be quite a long period

07:50before Kenyans have the opportunity to select their leader as they did in 2022.

07:57Yerungo Houghton, Executive Director of Amnesty Kenya.

07:59Thank you very much indeed for sharing your analysis, your reflections and your eyewitness statements with us

08:04on the situation in your country in Kenya.

08:07Yerungo Houghton there from Amnesty International.

08:09Thanks again.

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