In a television interview with Citizen TV on July 3, 2024, former Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale defended the deployment of Kenya Defence Forces to all counties amid countrywide protests, comparing the storming of Parliament by protesters to the violent insurrection attempt of January 6, 2021 at Capitol Hill in the United States of America. Duale specifically said that “many” Donald Trump supporters were killed.
“Many died, many of Trump supporters were killed. I am not justifying that many should be killed. Many, over 500, close to 1000 are in jail. The Washington National Guard were on Capitol Hill. For about 6 months. A policeman was also killed,” Duale claimed.
At the time, Duale was the Cabinet Secretary for Defence, but he, as well as 21 other cabinet secretaries and the Attorney-General, were dismissed by President William Ruto on July 11 in response to anti-government protests.
Background
Nationwide protests in Kenya opposing the Finance Bill 2024 started on June 18, 2024. Thousands of mostly young Kenyans voiced their disapproval of the bill through the hashtag #RejectFinanceBill2024. The bill was viewed by many Kenyans as an overtaxation measure. Although the weekly demonstrations were met by a heavy handed response from the police force, they culminated in the storming of protesters into parliament building in Nairobi Central Business District on June 25, 2024.
In a memorandum issued to the National Assembly, President William Ruto declined to sign the Finance Bill 2024 and called for its withdrawal at the National Assembly on June 26, 2024, saying that he has “‘listened to the views of Kenyans”. The National Assembly is expected to reconvene on July 22, 2024, when it will consider the memorandum.
On 11 July, President Ruto dismissed his entire cabinet save for the Prime Cabinet Secretary and the Deputy President. The Attorney General was also dismissed.
Verification
@africauncensored In an interview with @citizentvnews_ last night, Defence Cabinet Secretary @csadendualecompared the events of June 25th in Nairobi to the January 6th, 2021 storming of the United States Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, claiming they were similar. Our fact-checker, @tom_mukhwana,investigated these claims.
News reports investigating the riots at Capitol Hill say that 5 people, including one Air National Guard officer died in connection to the riots. As per the District of Columbia medical examiner the four civilians who passed away died from various causes such as a gunshot wound, cardiovascular diseases, and a drug overdose. Ashli Babbitt, 35, died from a fatal gunshot wound inflicted by a Capitol police officer. Kevin Greeson, 55, and Benjamin Phillips, 50, died from cardiovascular diseases. Although initial reports claimed that Roseann Boyland, 34, died from being crushed in a stampede, a later medical examination asserted that it was due to an accidental amphetamine intoxication.
Brian Sicknick, the National Air Guard officer who was present at Capitol Hill during the riots reportedly died from multiple strokes in hospital after January 6, 2021. An autopsy revealed that Sicknick died of natural causes. Two rioters were however charged with spraying Sicknick with a chemical.
In contrast, as of July 1, 39 people had been killed in Kenya during the protests, almost eight times the number reported from the January 6 Capitol Hill riots. This includes at least three protesters who were shot dead outside the Kenyan parliament on June 25, 2024. The three were David Chege, 39 and Eric Shieni, 26, who were fatally shot in the head, and Ericsson Kyalo, fatally shot in the chest.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reports that 361 people were injured, scores shot dead, dozens abducted and missing, and hundreds were tortured and maimed. This is consistent with news reports emerging after the protests in Mombasa where two bodies of men who went missing after the anti-government protests. The two are Denis Otieno, 26, who died from three gunshot wounds, and Joash Ombati who sustained a single gunshot wound.
It’s important to note that while ‘many’ is a subjective word, it implies a large number, certainly larger than the actual 5 deaths that were reported in connection to the Capitol Hill riots.
Verdict
Aden Duale’s claim that many died at the Capitol Hill riots in comparison to the #RejectFinanceBill protests is an exaggeration, and while the claim about deaths is based on fact, saying that ‘many people died’ is MOSTLY FALSE.
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