Tension and Tear Gas Linger in Kenya After Tax Protests Turn Deadly

A tense mood enveloped major cities across Kenya on Wednesday, a day after demonstrators against new tax increases stormed Parliament and set parts of it ablaze in actions that President William Ruto said posed an “existential danger” to the East African nation and prompted him to deploy the military.

In downtown Nairobi, the capital, the strong smell of tear gas still wafted through the air after the clashes between protesters and the police. Large rocks and a burned car were strewed next to the City Hall offices that protesters had breached. Across the street, the fence at the entrance to the Supreme Court complex was destroyed.

Police officers also cordoned off the streets leading to Parliament and were not allowing pedestrians to pass.

Although businesses were slowly reopening across Kenya, newspapers being sold on the streets of Nairobi captured the chaos of the previous day. “Pandemonium,” the front page of the Daily Nation newspaper said. “Deaths, chaos, rage,” The Star newspaper declared.

At least five people were killed and 31 others injured during the protests, according to Amnesty International and several prominent Kenyan civic organizations. Those numbers could not be immediately confirmed, and some activists said on Wednesday that the true toll could be higher.

Several people also put out calls on social media about friends, colleagues and family members who were last seen during the protests on Tuesday.