Raila condemns 'unprecedented police brutality' at protests

Nairobi. Veteran Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga on Tuesday hit out against "unprecedented police brutality" during protests he organised over a cost-of-living crisis in the East African nation.

Since March, Odinga's Azimio coalition has staged nine days of street protests against President William Ruto's government, with the rallies sometimes degenerating into looting and deadly clashes between security forces and demonstrators.

At least 50 people have been killed in the skirmishes, according to Azimio. Official figures put the toll at 20.

"We are witnessing unprecedented police brutality," Odinga told a press conference in the capital Nairobi.

"Police and hired gangs have shot and killed or wounded scores of people at close range," he said, adding the violence particularly targeted his Luo tribe.

Ruto last week defended police conduct, saying: "We do not want a country of violence or fighting or destruction of property".

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, an independent watchdog created by parliament, on Tuesday said it was "disheartening to witness the escalating tensions and the blatant disregard for human rights principles" by both rogue demonstrators and police.

Rights groups including Amnesty International last week denounced "repression" by police and said they had evidence of 27 "extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions" in July alone.

Odinga's team had called for another round of demonstrations on Wednesday but said they were changing tack to hold "solidarity parades and vigil for victims of police brutality".

In a statement late Monday, the coalition asked "Kenyans to come out and light candles and lay flowers, preferably white, in remembrance of and respect for the victims."

Critics accuse Ruto of rowing back on promises made during the August 2022 election campaign, when he declared himself the champion of impoverished Kenyans and pledged to improve their economic fortunes.

But the 56-year-old rags-to-riches businessman has raised taxes even as the country buckles under the burden of spiralling inflation.

"These protests were about cost of living and excessive taxation and they will continue as such," Odinga said, despite last week's push for three consecutive days of demonstrations ending in a damp squib as Kenyans largely ignored the call.

Odinga, who claims last year's election was "stolen" from him, called off demonstrations in April and May after Ruto agreed to dialogue, but the talks broke down.