101.4 Elgon FM

Elgon FM

International

20 July, 2023

1351

Kenya’s President William Ruto has praised the police for ensuring peace during recent opposition protests while a leading rights group has described their reaction as "an act of terrorism".

Over the past four months of demonstrations there have been several deaths, including 10 people being shot by police last week. Local media are reporting that six people died on Wednesday in clashes with the police.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), which is an NGO, said there was "a troubling pattern to show that [the] police’s actions and use of lethal force were premeditated".

But Ruto characterized the response as the police protecting people and property. There is no official death toll but Amnesty International says that police have killed at least 30 people since March, when the anti-government protests began.

The opposition has called a series of rallies against the introduction