Nairobi experienced a new round of anti-government protests today, which were less attended than the previous ones and coincided with the inauguration of the new members of the executive appointed by the President, William Ruto.
The protests against the President began in June.
According to EFE, while the 19 new cabinet members were being sworn in at a solemn ceremony at State House, the seat of the presidency in Nairobi, the streets leading to the presidential palace were blocked by police checkpoints and roadblocks.
The center of the capital was also the target of strong security measures, with shops closed and the streets virtually deserted, except for the demonstrators, who saw all their attempts to gather dispersed by police tear gas.
At least five journalists were injured while covering the protests in the centre of Nairobi, three of them by tear gas grenades fired directly at them by the police, the International Press Association of East Africa (IPAEA), which represents hundreds of correspondents in the region, said in a message on social media.
In addition, an unknown number of protesters were arrested.
At a press conference on Wednesday, the acting inspector general of the Kenyan police, Gilbert Masengeli, warned of the possible infiltration of thugs, something that the organizers themselves have been denouncing, accusing the government of.
At a press conference on Wednesday, the acting inspector general of Kenya's police, Gilbert Masengeli, warned of possible infiltration by thugs, something that the organizers themselves have been denouncing, accusing the government.
"The initial protests organized in June were peaceful, but subsequent protests turned into riots, with looters destroying and stealing property," Masengeli said.
Today's protests came the day after 19 new ministers were appointed after Ruto dismissed almost his entire government on July 11.
Only Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi were spared from dismissal.
In addition to several returning ministers, such as Kithure Kindiki, the Home Affairs Minister, four are members of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), the party of Raila Odinga, the historic opposition leader who lost the August 2022 election to Ruto.
The changes in government came after weeks of mass demonstrations that began on June 18 and which, unlike those Kenya has historically experienced driven by opposition politicians, had no official leaders.
Initially, Kenyans were protesting against the controversial Finance Bill of 2024, through which the government intended to introduce taxes such as a 16% VAT on goods such as bread and increase existing taxes on basic services.
On June 26, Ruto refused to sign the bill, 24 hours after a massive mobilization in Nairobi that ended in a pitched battle between protesters and police and led to the storming of parliament.
The protests, which were initially peaceful but turned violent, continued, albeit with less participation, and became anti-government.
Since the beginning of the mobilizations, driven mainly by young people from Generation Z (born between the mid-1990s and the first decade of the 21st century), the response of the security forces, with tear gas and even live ammunition, has left at least 50 people dead, according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).
At least 413 people were also injured and 59 cases of enforced disappearances were recorded.
This is Ruto's worst crisis since he came to power in September 2022.
