KENYAN police have dispersed protesters in the capital and detained others who took to the streets in memory of the demonstrators who were killed in anti-government rallies against tax rises two years ago.
Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said on Thursday that a total of 355 people were arrested in various parts of the country. He called those detained “criminals” and apologised for the use of barricades and other security measures aimed at containing the protests.
“We regret the inconveniences occasioned by these measures, and at the same time appreciate their effectiveness in securing the city and other parts of the country,” Murkomen told reporters.
A correspondent for the Reuters news agency also saw police fire tear gas to disperse people who were gathering peacefully outside of Nairobi’s police station after forces detained six people outside parliament, where they had laid flowers.
According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, organisers had planned to mark the second anniversary of the demonstrations that had left at least 60 people dead after protesters had breached parliament grounds in 2024.
But in Nairobi, shops and restaurants in the central business district remained closed as police set up roadblocks with water-cannon trucks.
Reporting from Nairobi, Al Jazeera’s Malcom Webb explained that the heavy police response to the protest was due to the government’s desire to avoid a repeat of the events two years ago.
“This comes following a series of different protests in recent weeks, some led by [President William] Ruto’s political opponents, others by transport unions over increases in fuel prices and a state of simmering discontent that hasn’t really recovered since that day two years ago when dozens of people were killed,” he said.
Opposition leaders joined the victims of alleged police brutality and families of protesters who were killed in the crackdown before they headed to parliament.
“As parents, we sought permission just to come here … to mourn and lay flowers for our children. But when we arrived, we were shocked because the police blocked us,” said Edith Wanjiku, whose 19-year-old son Ibrahim Kamau was killed in 2024.
“That is very shameful,” she continued.
“And one thing I would ask of President Ruto: those police officers who killed the children – because they are known – I am only asking for justice for those children and also compensation,” she added.
Protest organisers have said that they want a credible investigation into past police conduct and guarantees against the use of excessive force.
While Ruto has acknowledged what he called “instances of excessive and extrajudicial actions by members of the security services” and said last week that two billion Kenyan shillings ($15.5 million) had been set aside for victims of protest-related abuses, some activists have said it was not enough.