At least 10 dead in Kenya protests as central Nairobi sealed off
07 Jul 202520:35 PM
At least 10 dead in Kenya protests as central Nairobi sealed off
At least 10 people have been killed in protests, according to a state-run human rights body - the latest in a wave of anti-government rallies that began last year.

Police opened fire on demonstrators and earlier on Dr Aron Sikuku, a medic at Eagle Nursing Home in Kangemi on the outskirts of Nairobi, told the BBC that two bodies had been taken to the facility and had died from gunshot wounds.

He said hundreds of protesters had gathered outside his hospital demanding to take away the bodies.

These demonstrations mark the 35th anniversary of the historic Saba Saba (meaning "seven-seven") protests of 7 July 1990 which launched Kenya's push for multi-party democracy.

In a scathing report, the state-run Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KHRC) accused the police of using excessive force, as had frequently been the case during the current wave of protests.

"Police operated in plainclothes and unmarked vehicles" on Monday and collaborated with "armed criminal gangs in Nairobi, Kajiado, Nakuru, Kiambu, and Eldoret", it said. The police have denied previous such accusations.

It added that it had evidence that at least two people had been abducted, as well as reporting 29 injuries and 37 arrests in towns across the country.