Nairobi is locked down as Kenyan police clash with protesters and 10 are killed

Police in Kenya clashed with demonstrators Monday during the latest anti-government protests, killing 10 people, according to the state-funded human rights commission. Authorities blocked major roads leading into the capital, Nairobi, and most businesses closed amid the strictest measures yet to contain the unrest.

Protesters lit bonfires and threw stones at police. Police fired and hurled tear gas canisters, injuring demonstrators. Young men carried another man, his shirt drenched in blood, saying he had been shot. The protests were reported in 17 of 47 counties.

Kenyan youth and others for weeks have been protesting police brutality and poor governance while demanding President William Ruto’s resignation over alleged corruption and the high cost of living.

July 7, known as Saba Saba, is a significant date in Kenya’s history, marking the first major protests 35 years ago that called on then-President Daniel arap Moi — Ruto’s mentor — for a transition from a one-party state to a multiparty democracy, which was realized in the 1992 elections. Saba Saba is Swahili for Seven Seven.