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On 18 Jul 2023, Max Boot <max.boot@lathymes.com> posted some news:wEHtM.1687$nEzb.216@fx36.iad:

Trump owns my head, Obama owns my asshole.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Police in Kenya opened fire on protesters in clashes
that left at least 12 people wounded Wednesday as the opposition organized demonstrations calling for the government of President William Ruto to
lower the cost of living.

The opposition called for three days of countrywide protests aimed at
forcing the president to repeal a finance law imposing new taxes. Ruto had vowed that no protests would take place, saying he would take opposition
leader Raila Odinga “head-on.”

Four protesters were injured in the Mathare area of the capital, Nairobi, according to a police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity as he
was not authorized to speak to the media. The Associated Press witnessed
one man shot in the shoulder and two others shot in the leg in Mathare.

In Nairobi’s Kangemi area, health records worker Alvin Sikuku told the AP
that two young men had been brought into the Eagle Nursing Home clinic.
“Police are using live bullets,” he said. One man was shot in the back and severely wounded, and the other was shot in the leg. “We don’t yet know if
they were protesting or just walking by,” Sikuku said.

In the city of Nakuru, Nakuru Referral Hospital Medical Superintendent
James Waweru confirmed that four people came in with gunshot wounds, two
of them shot in the abdomen, one in the chest and another one in the leg.
A fifth person had been cut and wounded.

The Interior Ministry said more than 300 people were arrested during Wednesday’s protests and that they will be charged with crimes including looting, destroying property and assaulting police.

The opposition in a statement condemned the arrests of seven elected
leaders and two close associates of Odinga, calling it a “desperate
attempt” by the Ruto administration to paralyze the opposition.

Businesses and schools in Nairobi were closed as police used tear gas and
water cannons to disperse protesters.

Demonstrations were reported in several other parts of the country
including the western counties of Kisumu, Migori and Kisii where the
opposition enjoys huge support.

Police had said the protests were illegal as no permit had been issued,
but the right to peaceful protests is enshrined in the Kenyan
constitution.

The opposition has said protests would continue Thursday.

Last week’s protests killed at least 10 people, according to watchdogs,
with a police officer confirming at least six to the AP. Many others were injured, including 53 children who went into shock after tear gas was
thrown inside their school compound.

Religious leaders have called for dialogue between the government and the opposition to end the protests. Catholic bishops on Wednesday issued a statement reiterating that “no further blood should be shed” and urged the president to repeal the newly passed Finance Act that has agitated many Kenyans.

The law has raised the price of fuel to its highest level as the
government implements a doubling of value added tax on petroleum products
to 16%. The prices have taken effect despite a court order suspending the implementation of the controversial new taxes.

A Nairobi resident, Wycliffe Onyango, said his entire earnings are spent
on food. “Right now there is no work going on. We are suffering. I plead
with the government to deal with the cost of living,” he added.

The International Monetary Fund this week called the law’s approval a
“crucial” step toward reducing Kenya’s debt vulnerabilities.

Western envoys from 13 countries on Tuesday issued a joint statement
calling for dialogue and expressed concern over the loss of lives and destruction of property.

The Kenya Medical Association said its members had attended to “hundreds
of injured Kenyans and witnessed tens of fatalities” as a result of
protests in recent months, and access to health facilities was limited for patients and workers, leading to increased mortality.

Human Rights Watch urged political leaders to stop labelling protesters as “terrorists” and respect the right to peaceful protests. The group also
called out the police for using force and live bullets to confront
protesters.

https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/ap-international/ap-at-least-4-injured- in-kenya-anti-government-protests-as-schools-remain-closed/

--
http://web.archive.org/web/20040627142700/eastandard.net/headlines/news260 60403.htm

http://eastandard.net/headlines/news26060403.htm

Sunday, June 27, 2004

Kenyan-born Obama all set for US Senate

Kenyan-born US Senate hopeful, Barrack Obama, appeared set to take over
the Illinois Senate seat after his main rival, Jack Ryan, dropped out of
the race on Friday night amid a furor over lurid sex club allegations.

The allegations that horrified fellow Republicans and caused his once- promising candidacy to implode in four short days have given Obama a clear
lead as Republicans struggled to fetch an alternative.

Ryan’s campaign began to crumble on Monday following the release of embarrassing records from his divorce. In the records, his ex-wife, Boston Public actress Jeri Ryan, said her former husband took her to kinky sex
clubs in Paris, New York and New Orleans.

"It’s clear to me that a vigorous debate on the issues most likely could
not take place if I remain in the race," Ryan, 44, said in a statement.
"What would take place, rather, is a brutal, scorched-earth campaign – the
kind of campaign that has turned off so many voters, the kind of politics
I refuse to play."

Although Ryan disputed the allegations, saying he and his wife went to one ‘avant-garde’ club in Paris and left because they felt uncomfortable,
lashed out at the media and said it was "truly outrageous" that the
Chicago Tribune got a judge to unseal the records.

—AP

Copyright © 2004 . The Standard Ltd

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