The Indian high commission in Kenya on Tuesday advised Indian nationals to exercise “utmost caution” in view of prevailing “tense” situation arising out of violent protests in the African nation.
The Indian high commission in an advisory said “In view of the prevailing tense situation, all Indians in Kenya are advised to exercise utmost caution, restrict non-essential movement and avoid the areas affected by the protests and violence till the situation clears up,”.
Around 20,000 Indians are currently living in Kenya, according to an official estimate. Kenya’s capital Nairobi and other cities across the country witnessed violent clashes and demonstrations after Kenyan parliament passed a controversial bill that proposed to increase taxes.
Part of Kenya’s parliament building was burned Tuesday as thousands of protesters against a new finance bill entered and legislators fled, in the most direct assault on the government in decades. Journalists saw at least three bodies outside the complex where police had opened fire, and medical workers reported five others killed. Clashes spread to other cities.
Kenya’s defense minister said the military had been deployed to support police during the “security emergency” and “breaching of critical infrastructure.”
Protesters had demanded that legislators vote against the bill imposing new taxes on a country, East Africa’s economic hub, where frustrations over the high cost of living have simmered. Youth who had voted President William Ruto into power with cheers for his promises of economic relief have taken to the streets to object to the pain of reforms.
But lawmakers voted to pass the bill, then fled through a tunnel as protesters, many of them youth, outmaneuvered police to enter. The fire was later put out.
At least five people were shot dead while treating the wounded, the Kenya Medical Association and other groups said in a joint statement. It said more than 30 people were wounded, at least 13 with live bullets. One person shot dead was wrapped in a Kenyan flag and carried away. Another lay on the sidewalk, their head in the gutter.
With inputs from agencies.
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Kenya protests: Indian nationals advised to exercise ‘utmost caution’
