President William Ruto’s economic advisor, Moses Kuria, has lauded the youth-led nationwide protests for being peaceful.
Taking to his official social media platforms on Wednesday, June 25, Kuria expressed satisfaction with how the demonstrators, mainly Gen Zs, have conducted themselves so far.
He urged them to maintain the same discipline throughout the day, emphasising that peaceful protest is a constitutional right. Kuria also commended the police for their restraint, calling on them to continue exercising professionalism in handling the demonstrations.
Kuria further challenged the officers not to misuse tear gas by firing it at the protestors, encouraging them to return unused canisters to their stations.
According to him, the current events signal the maturing of Kenya’s democracy.
“I am largely happy that Gen Z demonstrations across the country are largely peaceful, AS THEY SHOULD BE. I also want to commend the police for exercising restraint SO FAR.
“I appeal to demonstrators to maintain peace throughout as they exercise their inalienable constitutional right to picket. Equally, I urge the police to keep up with the restraint and remember that not every teargas canister that leaves the station must be used in the streets. I challenge you to return all canisters to the stations unused. Our democracy is coming of age,” Kuria said.
Injured protestors
However, his message came just hours before a young male protester was rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital with severe injuries sustained during the Nairobi demonstrations. The visibly bleeding protester, wearing a white T-shirt soaked in blood, was seen being wheeled into the emergency wing by Red Cross medics.
In a separate incident, a female demonstrator with injuries around the neck was also brought to the hospital for urgent treatment.
The cause of the injuries remains unclear, but the scenes have sparked concern online as video clips show medics struggling to keep up with the growing number of casualties.
The protests, which began peacefully in the morning, have since escalated in intensity, with police lobbing tear gas in parts of Nairobi, Kitengela, Mombasa, Embu, and Nakuru to disperse crowds.
