Kenyan Police Disperse Anti-Ruto Protests

Police have fired tear gas to disperse anti government protesters who took to the streets of Kenya demanding that embattled President William Ruto resign.

Demonstrations, spanning from the capital, Nairobi to the southern coastal town of Mombasa, are the latest bout of unrest since government-planned tax hikes prompted mass anger in mid-June.

Police fired tear gas all day long and used water cannons to disperse crowds. The streets are littered with the empty canisters that have been exploding here for hours.

Some of the demonstrators are calling for Ruto to go. Many are saying they need sweeping reforms.

In the nearby town of Kitengela, some 200 protesters burned tyres and chanted “Ruto must go ''. At least one person was killed.

In Mombasa, in the south, more protesters marched waving palm fronds, footage from Kenyan media showed.

During protests in Nakuru, north west of Nairobi, Mediamax journalist Catherine Kariuki was admitted to hospital with a gunshot injury, the Kenya Union of Journalists said in a statement.

The statement said Kariuki was shot by a rogue police officer, in what her colleagues said was a targeted attack.

The union demanded a swift investigation by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority.

Kenyan activists, unmoved by Ruto’s concession to ax the $2.7bn in planned tax hikes to ease the initial protests, threatened a total shutdown of the country.

The demonstrations that started peacefully last month soon spiraled into violence, with some protesters even briefly storming parliament and police opening fire.

More than 50 people were killed during the protests, according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, with police accused of using excessive force.

Another 59 people have been abducted or are missing and 628 others were arbitrarily arrested, the commission said.