At least 16 people were killed during protests across Kenya on Wednesday, Amnesty International reported on Thursday, as residents and business owners began clearing the wreckage left behind in Nairobi and other areas.
The demonstrations were held to mark one year since the deadly anti-tax protests that saw crowds storm parliament and dozens killed by security forces. While Wednesday’s protests started peacefully, they quickly spiralled into violence. Groups of young men clashed with police, set fires, and tore up pavement to hurl as projectiles.
“What unfolded yesterday was not a protest. It was terrorism disguised as dissent,” said Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen in a televised address.
He went on to condemn the violence: “We denounce the criminal anarchists who, under the guise of peaceful demonstrations, unleashed violence, looting, sexual assault, and destruction on our citizens.”
In downtown Nairobi—the heart of the chaos—AFP reporters observed widespread destruction. Entire shopping centres and thousands of businesses had been destroyed, with smoke still rising from some sites.
At least two banks were broken into, while looters targeted everything from large supermarkets to small electronics and clothing shops, leaving many in ruins.
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