Death toll from Kenya’s anti-government protests rises to 16

NAIROBI, Kenya — The fig of Kenyans who died during Wednesday’s nationwide protests implicit constabulary brutality and atrocious governance has doubled to 16, according to the state-funded quality rights commission.

Property was besides destroyed successful the protests that attracted thousands of frustrated young Kenyans. At slightest 2 constabulary stations were razed down by aggravated protesters.

Kenyans demonstrated Wednesday successful 23 of 47 counties crossed the country, calling for an extremity to constabulary brutality and amended governance. Thousands chanted anti-government slogans, and the protests morphed into calls for President William Ruto to resign.

Protesters scattered arsenic constabulary fired teardrop state astatine them during a objection successful downtown Nairobi, Kenya, connected Wednesday.Brian Inganga / AP

Many protesters were enraged by the caller decease of a blogger successful custody and the shooting of a civilian during protests implicit the blogger’s death.

The country’s interior minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, connected Thursday assessed harm to businesses successful the capital, Nairobi, wherever goods were stolen from aggregate stores. He said constabulary would travel up with owners whose CCTV cameras captured the looters to guarantee swift arrests.

At slightest 2 families person identified their deceased kin astatine the Nairobi mortuary. One relative, Fatma Opango, told section media that her 17-year-old nephew was gunned down successful the Rongai country successful the outskirts of Nairobi.

“I came crossed his photograph successful a radical online and I started searching for him astatine the hospitals hoping helium had survived,” she told journalists astatine the mortuary.

Murkomen connected Thursday defended the behaviour of constabulary officers during the protests, saying the “government has your back.”

“There is nary constabulary serviceman who committed immoderate excess yesterday, they foiled a coup and they merit our defense,” Murkomen said, adding that constabulary “don’t transportation guns arsenic toys.”

In downtown Nairobi, businesspeople counted their losses aft looters raided their shops and acceptable immoderate shops connected fire.

In 1 of the buildings wherever fume was inactive billowing connected Thursday morning, a telephone seller told journalists that she mislaid banal worthy 800,000 Kenya shillings ($6,000).

Kenyans mobilized Wednesday’s protests connected societal media platforms to people the one-year day of immense anti-tax protests, erstwhile demonstrators stormed parliament and astatine slightest 60 radical were killed. Twenty others are inactive missing.

Parliament and the president’s bureau were connected Wednesday barricaded with razor ligament and protesters were incapable to usage the roads starring to the 2 establishments.