The police opened fire on demonstrators protesting the rising cost of living and tax increases during anti-government protests in Kenya.

In the third round of anti-government protests this month, protesters hurled rocks at police and burned tyres. Security forces fired teargas to disperse the crowds.

A clash between police and protesters led to the deaths of two people in the opposition bastion of Kisumu, according to George Rae, the CEO of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga hospital.

The morgue has two bodies with gunshot wounds, he told AFP by telephone, adding that 14 other people were hospitalized.

The police opened fire on demonstrators protesting the rising cost of living and tax increases during anti-government protests in Kenya.

During the third round of anti-government protests called by the opposition this month, protesters threw rocks at police and burned tires.

George Rae, CEO of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga hospital, says two people died as a result of clashes between police and protesters in Kisumu, the opposition bastion.

The morgue has two bodies with gunshot wounds, he told AFP by telephone, adding that 14 other people were hospitalized.

A protester in Mombasa who gave only his first name, Eric, told Reuters that the government violates the constitution by brutally suppressing our peaceful protests.

Kibera, a shantytown in south-western Nairobi, was guarded by two water cannon trucks and dozens of riot police. A volley of teargas was fired by police after protesters threw rocks and burned tyres.

According to a TV station controlled by the Azimio La Umoja opposition party, Raila Odinga’s spokesperson has been arrested.

Thursday and Friday are also scheduled for demonstrations by opposition leaders.

It is estimated that protests in this year have cost the economy more than $20 million per day, and civic leaders have warned of sporadic incidents of violence based on ethnicity.

After disputed elections in 2007 and 2017, hundreds of Kenyans were killed in fighting along ethnic lines due to tribal alliances.

Political analysts, however, say the latest protests are unlikely to escalate into widespread ethnic violence, given Ruto’s broad support base.

Churches and civil rights groups have urged Ruto and Odinga to resolve their differences through dialogue. According to Archbishop Anthony Muheria of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, the tax increases should be repealed.