Kenya deployes Army to fight protesting youths

NAIROBI,  Kenya 

Kenya's Defence Cabinet Secretary, Aden Duale, has announced the deployment of the millitary in the country following a day of protests against the controversial Finance Bill 2024. 

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In a gazette notice dated June 25, the Defence CS cited Article 241 (3) (b) of Kenya's constitution to declare the deployment of the Kenya Defence Forces in support of the National Police Service.

According to Duale, the deployment of KDF soldiers was in response to ongoing violent protests in various parts of the Republic of Kenya, which have resulted in the destruction and breaching of critical infrastructure.

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 broaching of critical infrastructure," the gazette notice reads. 

The Head of State will, according to a State House communique, address the press at 9pm on Tuesday. 

Early Tuesday, Kenyan protesters broke through parliament barricades on Tuesday and entered the complex, where lawmakers were debating contentious tax hike proposals that have sparked widespread outrage.

According to Amnesty International Kenya, hundreds of protesters broke through police barriers outside parliament in Nairobi, with police firing live rounds and injuring "many" people.

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

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

The United States of America, the United Kingdom and a host of other countries have condemned the abduction and killing of protesters in Kenya during the ongoing anti-Finance Bill protests that have been witnessed across the country.

In a joint statement, Ambassadors & High Commissioners from 13 countries expressed concern over the violence witnessed across the country and the resultant deaths.

"We are deeply concerned by the violence witnessed in many parts of the country during the recent protests, and are especially shocked by the scenes witnessed outside the Kenyan Parliament," reads the statement.