NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 19-Uncertainty has hit the Kayole area in Nairobi, as protests against the killing of youth turned violent.
The man was allegedly shot dead by police after he was arrested for flouting curfew rules.“He had sent a text message to his wife saying he has been arrested,” a friend to the deceased told Crossfire News. He did not want his name to be mentioned.“Cases of police brutality have increased so much in this area. We are tired,” he added.
During the protests, businesses were closed, patients holed up in hospitals and students held up in learning institutions despite police efforts to calm the situation.
Journalists who went to cover the protests were not spared either, and some were forced to seek refuge at the Kayole Police station.“I have spent Sh500 to cover a distance of fewer than two kilometers for me to hide at the police station,” one of the journalists told Crossfire News.
All these killings have occurred during operations to enforce curfew hours and other COVID-19 preventive measures like wearing a face mask while in public.
Statistics by human rights organizations indicate that more than 30 people have been killed since March 2020, when stringent restrictions were put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19 disease.
