Kenya’s police chief Japhet Koome has resigned, following weeks of violent protests against proposed tax hikes in which more than 40 people died.
Human rights groups have accused police of shooting dozens of protestors, some of them fatally, and abducting or arbitrarily arresting hundreds more.
The resignation comes a day after President William Ruto sacked most of his cabinet, following pressure from the protest movement which is largely coordinated online by young Kenyans.
Two weeks ago protesters stormed parliament, shortly after legislators passed the controversial finance bill. Police responded by opening fire on demonstrators in the streets.
Deputy police chief Douglas Kanja takes over running the force with immediate effect, the Kenyan presidency has said.
Mr Koome’s resignation has been welcomed by Kenyans, yet police officers who caught on film firing at protesters remain at large.
Last week during an unprecedented decision on X, formerly Twitter, President Ruto promised Kenyans he would take action against those police officers once he received video evidence. It is not clear whether this has happened.
On Friday at least 11 dead bodies, some of them dismembered, were found at a rubbish tip in the capital, Nairobi, after residents raised the alarm. It is not yet clear whether their deaths have any connection with the protests.
Source BBC
