A 21-year-old demonstrator was killed during protests in Kenya this week, an official at the Commission for Human Rights said on Saturday, making him the second person killed in demonstrations against the tax increase plan in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
The protests began in the capital earlier this week, before spreading throughout the country.
Thursday’s demonstrations in Nairobi were peaceful, and police used water cannons in an attempt to disperse the crowds that had gathered near Parliament to protest.
According to an official at the Kenyan Human Rights Commission, the young man, Evans Kirato (21 years old), was injured during the demonstrations.
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Kenyan police throw tear gas at demonstrators in Nairobi
Spokesman Ernest Cornell said that the young man “was taken to the hospital at approximately 6:00 pm (15:00 GMT) on Thursday… and died there.”
The demonstrations began in Nairobi on Tuesday, before spreading to all parts of the country, as demonstrators called for a general strike on June 25.
The Independent Police Oversight Authority said on Friday that it had “documented the death” of a 29-year-old man “believed to be due to police gunfire.”
The administration of Kenyan President William Ruto defended the tax increase project as necessary for the state treasury and to stop dependence on borrowing from abroad.
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