This image of a policeman standing over a protestor was shared with the hashtags #RutoMustGo, #RejectFinanceBill2024, #Roadtostatehouse, #RevolutionNowOrNever, and #OccupyStateHouse. The image was posted with a caption reading, “Repost widely”, and shows a policeman with a riot shield, helmet and protective gear. The policeman’s foot is raised over the head of a protestor who is lying on the ground.
Background
Since the anti-Finance Bill 2024 protests began across Kenya on June 18, 2024, Amnesty International noted that the third wave of these protests experienced on June 25, 2024, escalated into violence.
Between June 18 and June 25, 2024, videos published by various media houses confirmed this violence. One published by Nation Media on June 18, 2024, shows a plain-cloth police lobbing a teargas canister directly to journalists covering these demonstrations. Another video documented by Africa Uncensored shows that at least two protesters had been shot dead outside parliament buildings on June 25, 2024.
According to a statement by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), data attributed to the Police Reforms Working Group (PRWG) shows that by June 25, 2024, at least 23 people had been killed by police countrywide.
While these protests compelled President William Ruto to withdraw the Finance Bill 2024 which is considered to have tax hikes, another protest broke out on June 27, 2024, calling for the resignation of Ruto as the Kenyan president.
Verification
A reverse image search results show this image was taken in 2016 during protests against the government and Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission in Kenya over alleged bias and corruption. This image, attributed to Ben Curtis, the Associated Press’s chief photographer for East Africa, and is also featured on his website as part of the collection from the 2016 anti-government protests. The protestor was identified by the Daily Nation as Boniface Mosoti, a passerby who got caught up in the day’s turmoil after going to the Nairobi CBD for a job interview.
According to Deutsche Welle, these protests started due to concerns over the transparency of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). The opposition at the time CORD Alliance accused IEBC of being pro-government ahead of the 2017 general elections.
Verdict
This image is not from the anti-tax protests in Kenya.
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