Police clash with protesters who almost stormed Coast State House

Youth demonstrate against the Finance Bill 2024 in Mombasa County on June 25, 2024. [Kelvin Karani, Standard] Hundreds of protestors nearly overpowered the General Service Unit (GSU) officers to gain access to the State House, Mombasa. The GSU officers guarding the facility had to shoot in the air and lob teargas to disperse the protestors who charged towards the gates of State House from both sides of the road. Several police officers and protestors were injured as they engaged in a cat-and-mouse chase outside the State House gate and along Digo Road, Kenyatta Avenue, and Nkrumah Road. Protests joined the State House Road from Mama Ngina and the roundabout next to the Judiciary, making it difficult for the police to contain them. Protesters hurled stones at the police, who were shooting in the air and lobed teargas to disperse them. Several vehicles were also damaged. Police did not disclose the number of injuries. Most protestors had arrived aboard ferries, chanting "Ruto must go" and "Reject the Finance Bill", chants that rented the air from as early as 5am as they arrived at the Likoni Crossing Channel. Coast Regional Police Commander George Seda said all government premises in the region were safe, including Diani Police Station, where the protestors lit fires outside the compound. Most shops in Mombasa's Central Business District (CBD) were closed as early as 6am as the protestors arrived on the island from the South, North, and West. Other than Mombasa, protestors engaged the police in Kwale, Kilifi, Lamu, Tana River, and Taita Taveta, while others disrupted transport along the Mombasa-Nairobi Highway. In Taita Taveta, the protesters also attempted to storm the Taita Taveta County Police headquarters in Voi town as traffic along the busy Nairobi-Mombasa Highway remained paralysed for almost the whole day. Voi Sub County Police Commander Dafarla Ibrahim said the protests were bolstered by students from the Taita Taveta National Polytechnic and Kenya Medical and Training Colleges. "They tried to storm Voi Police Station using the main gate. The demonstrators came to the police station to provoke us. They are declaring war," said Ibrahim. In Taveta, Wundanyi and Mwatate police kept vigil as the protesters marched carrying placards denouncing the Kenya Kwanza Government and MPs who supported the Finance Bill. At the same time, security was enhanced at the premises of MPs who voted for the Finance Bill 2024. In the past few days, protestors have stormed the houses of MPs who voted for the Bill. MPs Mohamed Ali (Nyali), Feisal Bader (Msambweni), Ruweida Obbo (Lamu East), Lydia Haika Taita Taveta, Peter Shake (Mwatate), and John Bwire (Taveta) have been targets of protestors. Yesterday, the protestors stormed Shake's premises for quite some time before they closed the highway at Caltex junction, which connects Kenya and Tanzania. "These people (MPs) have betrayed us. We will make sure they will not get peace in their constituencies. Let them stay in Nairobi with Ruto (President William Ruto)," said a protestor, Ken Muyanga. The protesting youths further warned of more protests if the President signs Finance Bill 2024 into law. In Mombasa, clad mainly in black and holding anti-governmental placards, the protestors caused traffic disruptions on major roads. "The youth were peaceful until the police started to shoot in the air and spray us with water," said Francis Auma, the Response Officer of Muslim for Human Rights (Muhuri). He said most human rights activists went to the streets to monitor the protest and document cases of police brutality. "It is the right of these Generation-Z to protest," said Auma. Phyllis Omido called on parents to join Generation Z in the demonstration, saying the Bill would affect all Kenyans' lives. In Changamwe, the Anti-Finance Bill protesters lit a fire in the middle of the road, disrupting traffic on the West of Mombasa Island. In Kilifi, protests in Malindi also turned ugly after police and youth started engaging each other. The protests that started peacefully in the morning attracted thousands of youths who mobilized in groups, covering all major roads leading to the CBD. Hell broke loose when one of the groups that was demonstrating past the Malindi Sub County Police Station engaged the police officers in a heated argument. Peter Pogba, who led the protests in Malindi, condemned the violence witnessed and abandoned the protests in the afternoon. "We condemn the arbitrary kidnappings of Gabriel Oguda, who is the voice of the youth against the Bill. MPs must reject the Bill," said Pogba. Another protestor, John Muyumbu, said they translated the Bill into local languages for everyone to understand its effects. "I saw allies of one of our MPs insulting youth on social media, telling him that even if he won't vote for him in 2027, the parent will. It is saddening that a leader can belittle our parents that way and we are going to translate the Bill and interpret it to our parents in the rural areas," he said.

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