Kenya\u2019s crackdown on protesters over the last year has sullied its image as a beacon of democracy<\/p>\n
Kenya has been hit by a recent wave of repression, tarnishing its reputation as a beacon of democracy in East Africa.<\/p>\n
Critics fear that it is sliding down the path of her neighbours \u2013 Uganda and Tanzania, both of which are notorious for cracking down on dissent.<\/p>\n
Kenya\u2019s laws are widely regarded as being more progressive \u2013 particularly in protecting fundamental freedoms like the right to protest.<\/p>\n
But Kenya has witnessed an increasing crackdown on protests \u2013 the latest example being\u00a0the killing of at least 10 people in nationwide demonstrations against President William Ruto\u2019s government<\/a>\u00a0while it attempted to ban live TV and radio coverage of the protests.<\/p>\n \u201cRogue Regime\u201d \u2013 declared the headline of Kenya\u2019s respected Standard newspaper as it pointed out that young people had flooded the streets in defiant remembrance of those gunned down a year ago in mass anti-tax demonstrations but \u201cInstead of a listening ear they were met with razor wire, armoured trucks and the cold grip of repression\u201d.<\/p>\n But as far as Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen is concerned, the police showed \u201cremarkable restraint\u201d as they foiled an \u201cattempted coup\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe condemn the criminal anarchists who in the name of peaceful demonstrations unleashed a wave of violence, looting, sexual assault and destruction upon our people,\u201d he said, accusing the protesters of attacking police stations and injuring 300 officers.<\/p>\n However, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) condemned the police for their handling of the protest.<\/p>\n \u201cThe unnecessary aggression and brute force that culminated in the senseless loss of life and senseless destruction of property have no place in a free democratic society,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n The crackdown came just weeks after\u00a0a 31-year-old blogger and teacher, Albert Ojwang, died in police custody<\/a>. He was arrested after being accused of defaming a senior police officer \u2013 and died in detention of assault wounds, an autopsy found.<\/p>\n His death triggered a small protest in the capital, Nairobi, which police clamped down on and a street vendor, who was caught in the crossfire \u2013 shot at close-range, is fighting for his life in hospital.<\/p>\n The LSK denounced his shooting as unbefitting for \u201cany sane democracy\u201d.<\/p>\n Its comment brought into sharp focus the fact that Kenya risks losing its status as a democracy that many Tanzanians and Ugandans envied \u2013 and drew inspiration from.<\/p>\n Tanzanian political analyst Nicodemus Minde said there had long been an \u201cappreciation\u201d among Tanzanians of the ability of Kenyans to \u201cspeak truth to power\u201d.<\/p>\n It was a view shared by Tanzania\u2019s main opposition leader Tundu Lissu who told the BBC last year that \u201cWe have not pressed hard enough for democratic reform\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat Kenya did to build its democratic space is something we need to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Having miraculously survived an assassination attempt after being shot 16 times in 2017, Lissu has become a symbol of state repression in Tanzania.<\/p>\n He is currently in detention, charged with treason<\/a>\u00a0for rallying his supporters under the slogan \u201cNo reform; no elections\u201d.<\/p>\n The government saw this as an attempt by Lissu to launch a rebellion \u2013 and he risks being sentenced to death if convicted.<\/p>\n The 57-year-old opposition leader sees his detention as an attempt by the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party \u2013 which has been in power since independence in 1961\u2013 to clear its path to victory in presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for October.<\/p>\n This perception has been strengthened by the fact that his Chadema party has been\u00a0barred from contesting the poll<\/a>\u00a0after it refused to sign an electoral code of conduct that it believed would undermine its right to campaign freely.<\/p>\n