Nairobi, Kenya (BN24) – Kenyan police shot and killed at least 11 people during nationwide anti government protests on Monday, as annual commemorations of a landmark pro-democracy uprising turned into a sweeping call for President William Ruto to resign.
Authorities said 52 police officers were injured as officers fired live ammunition and water cannons at crowds in Nairobi and other cities. In the capital, hundreds of demonstrators marched through heavily policed streets, many blowing whistles in defiance, while officers blocked roads leading to the city center.
The July 7 protest, known as “Saba Saba”—Kiswahili for “seven seven,” reflecting the date—marks the anniversary of 1990 demonstrations demanding a return to multiparty democracy after years of one-party rule under President Daniel arap Moi. But this year, the rallies swelled into a broader outcry against corruption, poverty, police brutality, and the deaths of government critics.
Reporting from Nairobi, Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb said clashes erupted on multiple roads and in other regions as police attempted to contain demonstrators determined to reach the city center.
“We started receiving reports from several locations of people with gunshot wounds,” Webb said, noting that ambulances were dispatched to collect the wounded.
Most schools and at least one shopping mall in Nairobi closed preemptively amid fears of violence, following similar demonstrations last month that left dozens dead and thousands of businesses damaged.
“We are not ready to go back because who will fight for our rights then? We will be here till evening,” Francis Waswa, a construction worker, told Reuters.
Demonstrators accused authorities of paying armed vandals to infiltrate the protests and discredit the movement. The government, meanwhile, described the rallies as an “attempted coup.”
Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen insisted security forces were prepared to protect property and maintain order. “Our security agencies are on high alert to deal decisively with criminals and other elements of ill intent who may seek to infiltrate peaceful processions,” Murkomen said in a statement on X.
Prominent activist Hanifa Aden criticized the clampdown, posting on social media: “The police getting rained on as they block every road while we stay at home warming our beds. Total shutdown and forced holiday executed by the state.”
On Sunday, men wielding sticks stormed a Kenyan Human Rights Commission news conference where organizers condemned extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
The unrest has been fueled by rising anger over inequality in a country where about 80% of people work informal, low-paying jobs despite growing economic expectations.
The death in police custody of Albert Ojwang, a teacher and blogger, in June galvanized public outrage. Prosecutors have since charged six people—including three police officers—with his murder. All pleaded not guilty.
Human rights monitors estimate at least 80 people have been killed in demonstrations since June, while dozens more have been detained without charge.
Despite mounting discontent, President Ruto—who came to power in 2022—maintains a firm political position. His alliance with longtime opposition figure Raila Odinga has left Kenya’s opposition fractured, with no clear challenger emerging ahead of the 2027 election.
