At least 30 dead in anti-government protests in Kenya: HRW

“Although there is no confirmation of the exact number of people killed in Nairobi and other cities, Human Rights Watch determined based on witness accounts, publicly available information, hospital and morgue records in Nairobi, and witness testimony that at least 30 people were killed that day,” the statement said.

“Shooting directly into the crowd without justification, even as protesters try to flee, is completely unacceptable under Kenyan and international law,” said Otsieno Namwaya, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

“The Kenyan authorities must make it clear to their security forces that they must protect peaceful protesters and that they can no longer tolerate police violence going unpunished,” Namwaya added.

The largely peaceful demonstrations turned violent on Tuesday when parliamentarians passed the deeply unpopular tax increases under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

After the vote was announced, crowds stormed the parliament complex and clashes broke out, the likes of which had never been seen in the country’s history since its independence from Britain in 1963.

The government under President William Ruto ultimately withdrew the bill.

The state-funded Kenyan Human Rights Commission said it had recorded 22 deaths and 300 injuries and announced an investigation.

“Eight military officers came and just opened fire on the people. They killed several people, including those who were not participating in the protests,” HRW quoted a human rights activist in Nairobi as saying.

“Kenya’s international partners should continue to actively monitor the situation … and urge the Kenyan authorities to investigate the abuses by security forces promptly but credibly and transparently,” the human rights organization said.

Ruto had already rolled back some tax measures after the protests began, prompting the Finance Ministry to warn of a gaping budget deficit of 200 billion shillings (1.6 billion dollars).

The cash-strapped government had previously said the increases were necessary to service Kenya’s enormous debt of around 10 trillion shillings ($78 billion), equivalent to about 70 percent of GDP.

The Washington-based IMF urged the country to implement fiscal reforms to gain access to the international lender’s crucial financing.

“The bill would raise an additional $2.3 billion in the next fiscal year, in part to meet IMF demands for higher revenues,” HRW said.

“The widespread outrage should serve as a wake-up call to the Kenyan government and the IMF that they cannot sacrifice rights in the name of economic recovery,” Namwaya said.

“Economic sustainability can only be achieved by building a new social contract that generates revenue fairly, manages it responsibly, and funds services and programs that protect the rights of all.”

sva/ach/smw