Protesters scatter as Kenya police sprays water cannon at them during a protest over proposed tax hikes in a finance bill in downtown Nairobi, Kenya on June 25, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

The Indian High Commission in Kenya on June 25 advised Indian nationals to exercise “utmost caution” in view of prevailing “tense” situation arising out of violent protests in the African nation.

Kenya’s capital Nairobi and other cities across the country witnessed violent clashes and demonstrations after Kenyan Parliament passed a controversial bill that proposed to increase taxes.

“In view of the prevailing tense situation, all Indians in Kenya are advised to exercise utmost caution, restrict non-essential movement and avoid the areas affected by the protests and violence till the situation clears up,” the Indian High Commission said in an advisory.

The Indian mission also advised the Indian nationals to follow local news and Mission’s website and social media handles for updates.

This comes as the protests against proposed tax hikes in Kenya are the target of widespread protests, which are expected to culminate in a “total shutdown” of the nation. The people in the country have been organising rallies under the title of “7 Days of Rage” in response to the Finance Bill 2024, which has generated additional days of unrest around the country, reported CNN.

Around 20,000 Indians are currently living in Kenya, according to an official estimate.

Violent protests

Meanwhile, amid raging protests, Auma Obama, the half-sister of former U.S. President Barack Obama, was teargassed live on air on June 25, CNN reported.

The incident occurred when Auma Obama, who is a Kenyan-British activist, was in a chat with CNN‘s Larry Madowo with a group of teenage protestors. “I can’t even see anymore, we’re being teargassed,” she said. The demonstrations coincide with Kenya’s rising international profile following U.S. President Joe Biden’s designation of the country as a “major non-NATO ally” on Monday.

This is the first time a country in sub-Saharan Africa has been granted this designation. In May, as part of a major state visit to the White House honouring 60 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries, Mr. Biden declared his intention to promote Kenya to this status.

Nairobi:

Kenya’s President William Ruto vowed to take a tough line against “violence and anarchy” on Tuesday, after protests against his government’s proposed tax hikes turned deadly and demonstrators ransacked parliament.

The youth-led protests, which have steadily grown over the past two weeks, had been largely peaceful but chaos erupted in the capital on Tuesday, with crowds throwing stones at police, pushing past barricades and ultimately entering the grounds of Kenya’s parliament.

The military has been deployed to support police who fired tear gas, water cannon, rubber bullets and — according to a rights group — live ammunition against protesters.

Five people were shot dead and 31 wounded, several NGOs including Amnesty Kenya reported in a joint statement.

“We shall provide a full, effective and expeditious response to today’s treasonous events,” Ruto told a press briefing in Nairobi, saying the demonstrations were “hijacked by dangerous people”.

“It is not in order or even conceivable that criminals pretending to be peaceful protesters can reign terror against the people, their elected representatives and the institutions established under our constitution and expect to go scot-free,” Ruto added.

“I hereby put on notice the planners, financiers, orchestrators, abetters of violence and anarchy.”

The White House appealed for calm and 13 Western nations — including Canada, Germany and Britain — said they were “especially shocked” by the scenes outside parliament.

Mainly youth-led rallies have galvanised outrage over proposed tax hikes and simmering anger over a cost-of-living crisis to fuel rapidly growing demonstrations that have caught the government off guard.

“This is the voice of the young people of Kenya,” said Elizabeth Nyaberi, 26, a lawyer at a protest. “They are tear gassing us, but we don’t care.”

“We are here to speak for our generations and the generations to come,” she added.

– ‘Unleashed brute force’ –

Amid the clashes, global web monitor NetBlocks reported that a “major disruption” had hit the country’s internet service.

In the aftermath of the parliament compound breach, local TV showed images of ransacked rooms with smashed windows, while cars parked outside were vandalised and flags destroyed, according to an AFP reporter.

The governor’s office in Nairobi City Hall — just a few hundred metres from parliament — was set alight, footage on privately owned Citizen TV showed, with a water cannon attempting to douse the fire.

After reports that live ammunition was fired at protesters, Kenya’s main opposition coalition, Azimio, said the government had “unleashed brute force on our country’s children”.

“Kenya cannot afford to kill its children just because the children are asking for food, jobs and a listening ear,” it said in a statement.

The military’s deployment was “in response to the security emergency” across Kenya, Defence Minister Aden Bare Duale said in a statement.

Despite the heavy police presence, thousands of protesters had earlier marched peacefully through Nairobi’s business district, many livestreaming the action as they sang and beat drums in their push towards parliament.

Crowds also marched in the port city of Mombasa, the opposition bastion of Kisumu, and Ruto’s stronghold of Eldoret, images on Kenyan TV channels showed.

– Protesters ‘abducted’ –

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority watchdog and rights groups said two people had died following last week’s rallies in Nairobi.

Several organisations, including Amnesty International Kenya, said at least 200 people were wounded in last week’s protests in Nairobi.

Amnesty’s Kenya chapter posted on X Tuesday that “the pattern of policing protests is deteriorating fast”, urging the government to respect demonstrators’ right to assembly.

Rights watchdogs have also accused the authorities of abducting protesters.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission said the abductions had mostly occurred at night and were “conducted by police officers in civilian clothes and unmarked cars”, calling for the “unconditional release of all abductees”.

Police have not responded to AFP requests for comment on the allegations.

– Fuel price hikes –

The cash-strapped government agreed last week to roll back several tax increases.

But it still intends to raise other taxes to fill the void left by the changes, including on fuel prices and export taxes, saying they are necessary for filling the state coffers and cutting reliance on external borrowing.

Critics say the move will make life more expensive in a country already saddled with high inflation and where well-paid jobs are out-of-reach for many young Kenyans.

Kenya has one of the most dynamic economies in East Africa but a third of its 52 million people live in poverty.

The country has a huge debt mountain whose servicing costs have ballooned because of a fall in the value of the local currency over the last two years, making interest payments on foreign-currency loans more expensive.

After the government agreed to scrap levies on bread purchases, car ownership and financial and mobile services, the treasury warned of a budget shortfall of 200 billion shillings ($1.56 billion).

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Kenyan activist Auma Obama, the half-sister of former US President Barack Obama, was among protesters tear-gassed on Tuesday during demonstrations outside the parliament building in Nairobi, a CNN interview showed.

Police opened fire on demonstrators trying to storm Kenya’s legislature on Tuesday, with at least five protesters killed, dozens wounded and sections of the parliament building set ablaze as lawmakers inside passed legislation to raise taxes.

Auma Obama was taken aside by a CNN reporter and asked why she was there.

“I’m here because – look at what’s happening. Young Kenyans are demonstrating for their rights. They’re demonstrating with flags and banners. I can’t even see anymore,” she said, beginning to cough and shield her eyes from the spreading smoke.

“We are being tear-gassed.”

A man behind her carried a sign reading, “Colonialism never ended in Kenya,” while another yelled, “This is our country. This is our nation.”

Auma Obama earlier posted photos of herself on Twitter at the protest.

The office of former President Obama did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the incident involving his sister or the violence in Kenya.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)