Though Kenyan President William Ruto had withdrawn a contentious bill increasing taxation, Kenyan youths have vowed to press on with demonstrations.
The streets of Nairobi saw a few protesters Thursday, but the demonstrators had vowed to gather again in Nairobi’s city centre to mourn those killed. Some have been demanding the president’s resignation.
Groups of protesters have been trying to enter the city centre but most have been repelled by the police.
Ahead of the protests some had vowed to march to the president’s official residence, State House.
But prominent people linked to the protests warned against this because of the risk of further violence.
Roads leading to State House have been blocked, with officers turning away some motorists and pedestrians.
Earlier on Thursday, local television stations showed empty streets in the central business district, with many security forces on patrol.
There have also been protests in towns around the country.
Ahead of Thursday’s protests, Auma Obama, the half-sister of former US President Barack Obama, told the BBC that young people were going to the streets again because “they still want their voices heard”.
Ms Obama, who was tear-gassed as she joined Tuesday’s protests, told the BBC Newsday programme that the youth were still aggrieved.
Mr Ruto had promised to enter into dialogue with them, but this has not yet happened, she said.
“The grievances are not over. It is way beyond the finance bill now, so a conversation has to happen. There has to be a dialogue. I hope that will happen. We do not want more bloodshed,” Ms Obama added.
But since then he has introduced a slew of taxes and raised others, making him unpopular as people complained that they could not afford to pay more when they were already struggling because of the cost-of-living crisis.
The finance bill outlined plans to introduce new taxes this year, including on bread and cooking oil, triggering the mass protests.
The government bowed to pressure and dropped some of the taxes but it did little to assuage the concerns of people, who demanded that the bill be withdrawn entirely.
But protesters maintained Thursday’s rally in memory of those killed in the demonstrations, criticising Ruto’s dramatic reversal as a case of too little, too late.
Ivy, a 26-year-old job seeker, told AFP Wednesday that Ruto’s about-turn was “a start to changing things.”
“He could have done this earlier without people having to die,” she added, echoing the words of other protesters interviewed by AFP.
A state-backed rights group counted 22 dead nationwide — 19 in Nairobi alone — in the aftermath of Tuesday’s protests and vowed an investigation.
“This is the largest number of deaths (in) a single day of protest,” said Roseline Odede, chairwoman of the state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, adding that 300 people were injured across the country.
Shops were largely closed in Nairobi’s business district on Thursday.
“We cannot take risks. We don’t know what will happen next,” said Joe, an employee in a perfume store, as he prepared to head home.
“Why did they have to kill these young people? This bill is not worth people dying,” the 30-year-old said.
“We are in uncharted waters.”
The unrest has alarmed the international community, with Washington calling on Kenya to respect the right to peaceful protest and the UN urging “accountability” for the bloodshed.
Rights watchdogs have accused the authorities of abducting protesters.
The government “will now have to find a way to pacify two opposing forces: a populace willing to resort to violence to protect livelihoods, and a macroeconomic trajectory that, bar considerable multilateral support, is heading towards a cliff,” Oxford Economics said in a note.
Ruto’s administration is under pressure from the International Monetary Fund, which has called for fiscal reforms in order to access crucial funding. With agency reports
