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Kenyan cops must stop misusing crowd-control weapons on protesters, human rights campaigners demand
Police officers fire tear gas canisters during a protest over proposed tax hikes in a finance bill that is due to be tabled in parliament in Nairobi, Kenya, June 20, 2024

KENYAN security forces must stop misusing crowd-control weapons on people protesting against the government’s finance Bill, a human rights group demanded today.

President William Ruto’s plans to raise taxes to pay off interest on foreign debts and reduce a budget deficit has sparked huge protests, to which police have responded with a deadly crackdown.

Last week, thousands of people protested peacefully in the capital Nairobi against the tax increases. Police officers targeted the demonstrators and two people were killed. One was shot dead and the other was hit by a tear-gas canister.

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