At least three people were killed in Kenya during opposition demonstrations protesting the cost of living and new taxes organized the day before Friday, hospital and police sources said on Saturday.

Kenyan police fired tear gas at opposition leader Raila Odinga’s motorcade in the capital Nairobi, one of the cities where protest rallies took place. It also used tear gas to disperse civilians in the cities of Mombasa (south) and Kisumu (west).

“We have another death (…) which brings the death toll to two after yesterday’s protests,” said George Ray, an official at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Hospital in the opposition stronghold of Kisumu, on Lake Victoria. Another executive of the same health structure spoke of the death of a protester who was hit by a bullet the previous day.

An AFP source in the police said a third man, also wounded by bullets, succumbed to a hospital in Migori county (southwest). Another police source confirmed this information.

Human rights organizations for their part denounced the violence and “arbitrary arrests”.

On Saturday, police fired tear gas at civil society representatives, including former top judge Willie Mutunga, who were calling for the release of dozens of people arrested in the protests, according to activists.

“It is in no way justified for the police to fire tear gas at us when we came peacefully to demand the release of innocent activists who have been held in cells since yesterday,” stressed Lebaa Suyanka, a lawyer.

“We ask that they be released because some of them have been injured and need medical treatment,” he added to reporters outside a police station in central Nairobi.

10 million signatures

Kenya’s national human rights commission on Saturday called for a “thorough investigation” into all allegations of “police brutality”.

“The acts of police brutality, including the use of excessive force that resulted in injuries, the arrests and detentions of peaceful protesters, are clear violations (…) of the provisions of the Constitution,” the commission said in a statement.

Human rights groups, including the Kenyan Human Rights Commission, had already condemned the “injuries and arbitrary arrests of peaceful protesters”, stressing that the authorities had “dragged to the ground” citizens in Nairobi.

Amnesty International spoke of the use of “excessive force” by the police.

Mr Odinga’s spokesman, Denis Onyango, told AFP on Saturday that the alliance, Azimio, intended to organize “at least one (demonstration) a week” and that the next one was expected to take place on Wednesday.

Already between March and May the opposition alliance organized anti-government demonstrations in which, according to the authorities, three people were killed.

Raila Odinga, leader of the opposition and an unsuccessful candidate in the 2022 presidential election when he faced William Ruto, announced yesterday Friday during a rally in Nairobi his intention to collect 10 million signatures demanding the removal of his political opponent from the highest office of the state.

Vice-President Rigati Gasagwa downgraded this initiative yesterday Saturday, stressing that there is “no article in our Constitution” that allows the removal of an “acting president” simply by collecting “signatures”.

Last week, President Ruto signed into law the Finance Act, which imposes a series of new taxes, despite strong opposition from the opposition and the country’s hyperinflation-stricken population.

The text foresees in particular an increase in the VAT on fuel from 8 to 16%, as well as deductions from wages in order to finance a housing program with affordable prices. Initially, they were expected to reach 3%, but they were reduced to 1.5%.