At least 7 bodies booked at City Mortuary after Yesterdays’ anti-tax protests

At least seven bodies are booked at the City Mortuary in Nairobi after they were killed in protests called to oppose proposed taxes.

Officials at the mortuary said the bodies were taken to the facility between Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

The bodies had gunshot wounds and one had died out of choking, officials at the mortuary said.

This increases to eight, the number of people confirmed dead out of the protests. One person was shot and killed in Kakamega, police said.

All bodies out of such incidents are supposed to be booked at a government morgue for identification and autopsy.

Police say they are yet to find any more bodies out of the fracas.

This came as residents of Githurai in Nairobi claimed many people were killed after a clash at the Githurai Mwiki police station.

Police said 20 police officers were injured in the chaos and that 740 blank bullets were used in the drama.

The officers said they used 258 tear gas canisters and that one vehicle was damaged.

But police were yet to comment on the claims of killings in Githurai.

Most of the victims were shot outside and in the Parliament compound.

One was shot and killed outside the Kencom area in the city.

The protesters had breached Parliament security prompting police to open fire.

On Wednesday, security was increased in Nairobi with more police patrols.

More military personnel were deployed outside Nakuru State Lodge as part of the security measures.

The military was on Tuesday evening deployed to help police contain protests that broke out in opposing the proposed taxes.

Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale announced the decision to deploy the military citing the constitution.

This was after police shot at least ten people outside the Parliament Building and near the Kencom area as a crowd marched to oppose the taxes.

Duale said pursuant to Article 241 (3) (b) of the Constitution of Kenya as read with sections 31 (1) (a), 31 (1) (c) , 33 (1), 34 (1) and 34 (2) of the Kenya Defence Forces Act, (Cap. 199), the Kenya Defence Forces is deployed on the 25th June 2024 in support of the National Police Service in response to the security emergency caused by the ongoing violent protests in various parts of the Republic of Kenya resulting in destruction and breaching of critical infrastructure.

The move was questioned given Parliament did not approve the deployment.

Police said they had been informed there were more planned protests in the city on Wednesday after a group said they would “visit” the office of the Inspector General of Police and that of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority.

President William Ruto called an emergency security meeting of security officials on Tuesday evening to discuss the crisis caused on Tuesday, which was seen as historic.

Police had clashed with the protesters outside Parliament along Parliament Road and major towns in the country.

Parts of the city centre turned chaotic as mobs went on a looting spree out of anger at the shooting of fellow protesters.

Supermarkets, mobile phone shops, clothes and shoe shops were broken into and looted for the better part of the afternoon in the chaos.

Police had contained the groups as Members of Parliament debated the bill.

When news broke out that the MPs had pushed through the bill in a record two hours, the groups became more violent and overwhelmed the anti-riot police who had also become fatigued.

The mob broke down a perimeter wall and breached into Parliament Buildings.

Some of them went to the main chambers of both Houses and vandalized property.

They ate food that had been prepared for MPS as others stole property including the mace.

MPs and staff were evacuated by security through a tunnel there for their safety.

More police officers were deployed to drive the group out of the building.

It was then that three lorries of military arrived to reinforce the fatigued police officers.

The anti-riot officers kept pushing the protesters.

A section of parliament that houses offices was also set on fire as the protesters stormed the buildings, accompanied by heavy gunfire from police officers battling the defiant mob.

Protesters who have rallied against the contentious have been picketing for the past week, arguing that if passed, the Bill will burden an already burdened population.

Parliament was barricaded ahead of the debate and voting on the proposal to increase taxes.

The mainly Gen-Z-led demonstrations have taken the government by surprise, with Ruto saying over the weekend that he was ready to speak with the protesters.