President William Ruto has defended his government’s decision to deploy Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) troops following the anti-finance bill protests witnessed in June.
President Ruto justified the deployment while responding to questions from CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour while in the US on September 27, 2024, where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
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During the interview, Ruto was cornered by Amanpour who queried him on why the state deployed KDF troops on peaceful protesters.
“People came out on to the streets, you tried to restore order and there were many people who were killed in those protests.
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Did you do the wrong thing to send out troops against people who were protesting that they could not afford these taxes?” asked Amanpour.
In his response, President Ruto said that it was the responsibility of security forces to restore law and order. The head of state maintained his claims that those who stormed in Parliament were criminal gangs.
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“What was in Nairobi apart from the protests were criminal gangs that burned down parliament, burned down the Chief Justice’s office, burned down people’s property.
Those, as it happens everywhere in the world had to be managed by our security agencies,” said Ruto.
“For your information, Kenya is a robustly democratic country, and protests are part of our democracy, the freedom of people to associate and to choose what to do and that is perfectly in order. Restoring law and order is also the work of law enforcement agencies.”
The Head of State further said that any excesses by police that may have occurred during the protests will be investigated by Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) and that security personnel who overstepped their mandate will be held to account.
Govt claims protests were attempted coup
His remarks came after Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kithure Kindiki alleged that the protests that took place in the months of June and July were part of an attempt to overthrow President Ruto’s government through unconstitutional means.
Kindiki while appearing before the National Assembly’s Security and Administration Committee, claimed that the demonstrators targeted key constitutional institutions, including Parliament, the Judiciary, and even State House.
“There was an attempt to attack and set fire to other protected areas such as the Supreme Court. The office of the Chief Justice was also targeted, which means the entire Judiciary was under threat,” Kindiki told the MPs.
Also Read: Duale Outlines Duration and Counties KDF Will be Deployed
In defending the actions of the police during the demonstrations, CS Kindiki informed the committee, led by Gabriel Tongoyo, that law enforcement officers had to resort to lethal force to prevent a coup.
“If the police had not used lethal force during the invasion of Parliament, we would not have the Kenya we know today,” he stated.
KDF deployed
Kenya deployed the military after violence escalated on Tuesday, June 25 resulting in the deaths of several protesters and injuries to many others.
The protests erupted after the passage of the controversial Finance Bill, 2024 which was seeking to raise taxes.
Also Read: CJ Koome Revisits Anti-Ruto Protests and Police Abductions
The chaotic scenes unfolded as police struggled to disperse rioters who stormed Parliament, with the confrontations marked by live bullets and tear gas moments after Members of Parliament (MPs) approved the bill.
Several protesters sustained serious bullet wounds during the clashes.
On the night of Tuesday, former Defense Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale issued a Gazette Notice authorizing the deployment of the military, as police appeared overwhelmed in many parts of the country, particularly in Nairobi.
“The Kenya Defense Forces is deployed on June 25, 2024, in support of the National Police Service in response to the security emergency caused by ongoing violent protests in various parts of the country, resulting in the destruction and breaching of critical infrastructure,” Duale stated.
Thousands of protesters on the fateful day engaged in running battles with the police throughout the day, with security officers firing rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowds.
The protests were not limited to Nairobi as similar unrest was reported in about 30 of Kenya’s 47 counties.
Businesses were shut, and transport was paralyzed in the city as police clashed with demonstrators.
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