Wed 25 June 2025:
One person was killed and at least 17 injured Wednesday in Kenya during nationwide protests to mark the anniversary of the deadly 2024 anti-taxation protests, according to media reports.
At least 10 people, including a female police officer who sustained head injuries, were taken to Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, according to the Citizen website.
In Machakos County, one person was killed by gunfire, and at least seven were taken to the hospital in Matuu with gunshot wounds.
Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters.
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Protesters set fire to Kikuyu Law Courts, stormed a police station, and lit bonfires inside government offices in the town near Nairobi.
The Communications Authority (CA) ordered all television and radio stations to end live coverage of the protests, warning of “regulatory action” in case of a refusal to abide by the directive.
The Kenya Editors’ Guild (KEG) “strongly” condemned the CA’s directive as “unconstitutional state censorship” in a statement. The KEG urged Kenyan media to “stand firm” and uphold the 2023 High Court ruling that prohibited “such censorship.”
The KEG condemned the shutdown of broadcasting signals of several independent media houses and demanded the “immediate” restoration of all affected services.
Global internet watchdog NetBlocks said live data show restrictions on Telegram have been imposed in Kenya amid rising concerns of a wider internet shutdown.
Kenyan President William Ruto urged the nation to protest “peacefully without descending into chaos or destroying people’s property,” according to the Kenyans website.
Thousands took to the streets across the country Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of the dramatic anti-Finance Bill demonstrations held June 25, 2024, that led to the storming of parliament, police gunfire and more than 60 deaths.
Ruto’s administration faced intense scrutiny for how it handled the protests, which also caused widespread property damage.
The government later acknowledged fatalities and disappearances linked to the unrest. Ruto dissolved nearly his entire Cabinet in July, retaining only Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and pledging to form a “broad-based government.”
Sparked by public anger over rising living costs and Ruto’s tax policies, demonstrations in Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa were among the most intense.
Initially focused on economic demands, the protests escalated into demands for Ruto’s resignation.
-Source: AA
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