Kenya's Ruto ready for conversation with protesters
23 حزيران 2024 17:42
Organised on social media and led largely by Gen-Z Kenyans who have livestreamed the demonstrations, the protests have caught Ruto's government off-guard, as discontent mounts over his economic policies.
"I am very proud of our young people... they have stepped forward peaceful and I want to tell them we are going to engage them," Ruto said in his first public comments on the protests.
"We are going to have a conversation so that together we can build a greater nation," Ruto said during a church service in the Rift Valley town of Nyahururu.
His characterisation of the protests as "peaceful" came after rights campaigners reported two deaths following Thursday's demonstrations in Nairobi.
There was no immediate response to his remarks from the protesters, who have called for a national strike on June 25.
The demonstrations were mostly peaceful, but officers fired tear gas and water cannon throughout the day to disperse protesters near parliament.
A Kenya Human Rights Commission official told AFP on Saturday that 21-year-old Evans Kiratu was "hit by a tear gas canister" during the protests and died in hospital.
On Friday, a police watchdog said it was investigating allegations that a 29-year-old man was shot by officers in Nairobi after the demonstrations.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) said it had "documented the death... allegedly as a result of police shooting" on Thursday.
Several organisations, including Amnesty International Kenya, said that at least 200 people were injured in the protests in Nairobi, as thousands of people took to the streets across the country.
"I am very proud of our young people... they have stepped forward peaceful and I want to tell them we are going to engage them," Ruto said in his first public comments on the protests.
"We are going to have a conversation so that together we can build a greater nation," Ruto said during a church service in the Rift Valley town of Nyahururu.
His characterisation of the protests as "peaceful" came after rights campaigners reported two deaths following Thursday's demonstrations in Nairobi.
There was no immediate response to his remarks from the protesters, who have called for a national strike on June 25.
The demonstrations were mostly peaceful, but officers fired tear gas and water cannon throughout the day to disperse protesters near parliament.
A Kenya Human Rights Commission official told AFP on Saturday that 21-year-old Evans Kiratu was "hit by a tear gas canister" during the protests and died in hospital.
On Friday, a police watchdog said it was investigating allegations that a 29-year-old man was shot by officers in Nairobi after the demonstrations.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) said it had "documented the death... allegedly as a result of police shooting" on Thursday.
Several organisations, including Amnesty International Kenya, said that at least 200 people were injured in the protests in Nairobi, as thousands of people took to the streets across the country.