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One Dead, 200 Injured In Kenya Tax Protests

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Demonstrators flee from teargas in Nairobi during protests to call for the resignation of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission officials. Photo: AFP

A man died on the sidelines of mass demonstrations against proposed tax hikes in the Kenyan capital, police said Friday, with the mounting protest a day earlier also leaving 200 people injured.

A police watchdog said it was investigating allegations that the man was shot by police after Thursday’s demonstrations in Nairobi, the second this week.

Led largely by young Kenyans, the protests began in Nairobi on Tuesday before spreading nationwide.

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They have been galvanised by widespread discontent over President William Ruto’s economic policies as many people already grapple with a cost-of-living crisis.

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Thursday’s demonstrations in Nairobi were mostly peaceful, but officers fired tear gas and water cannon throughout the day in an attempt to disperse people who gathered to protest near parliament.

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) said Friday it had “documented the death” of a 29-year-old man, “allegedly as a result of police shooting”.

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The Authority has this morning launched investigations into the fatal shooting,” the IPOA said in a statement.

According to a Nairobi police report seen by AFP, a 29-year-old man was taken to hospital in Nairobi’s central district at around 7:00 pm (1600 GMT) on Thursday “unconscious with a thigh injury” before “succumbing” to his injuries, without giving further details.

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A spokesman for Amnesty International Kenya, Mathias Kinyoda, told AFP that “one demonstrator was shot yesterday in the CBD (central business district) as he was trying to run away from the police”.

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Kinyoda said the person had died.

He said that the shooter “was wearing plain clothes but he was accompanying the police”, and called for an investigation.

“We saw what happened,” a witness told AFP, describing how he was among people gathered on the second floor of a building.

We could see police opening fire at the group that was gathered there,” the man said.

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It was a police officer in a baseball cap because he got down from a police vehicle and ran back to it after the shooting when the crowd dispersed.”

Late Thursday, several organisations, including Amnesty International Kenya, said that at least 200 were injured in Nairobi.

The Kenyan Red Cross said on X, formerly Twitter, that eight were in critical condition.

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* Masses march –

Thousands assembled across the country on Thursday, from the Indian Ocean city of Mombasa to the Rift Valley city of Nakuru and Ruto’s home city of Eldoret.

Following smaller-scale demonstrations in Nairobi earlier in the week, the cash-strapped government agreed to roll back several tax hikes laid out in a new bill.

But Ruto’s administration still intends to increase some taxes, defending the proposed levies as necessary for filling its coffers and cutting reliance on external borrowing.

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After the decision to scrap levies on bread purchases, car ownership as well as financial and mobile services, the treasury warned of a 200-billion-shilling ($1.5-billion) shortfall.

The proposed taxes were projected to raise 346.7 billion shillings ($2.7 billion), equivalent to 1.9 per cent of GDP, and reduce the budget deficit from 5.7 per cent to 3.3 per cent of GDP.

The government has now targeted an increase in fuel prices and export taxes to fill the void left by the changes, a move critics say will make life more expensive in a country battling high inflation.

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Kenya is one of the most dynamic economies in East Africa but a third of its 51.5 million people live in poverty.

AFP

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Nigeria Missing In Top 10 Most Stressful Countries In Africa

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A report has revealed the top 10 most stressful countries in Africa in 2024 with Nigeria ranked 33rd on the continent.

In Africa, stress levels are notably high due to a combination of economic challenges, political instability, and social issues.

In a report by CEOWORLD magazine, it shared the most stressed countries globally, with several African nations ranking high on the list.

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The report, which compared 211 countries and territories across four categories—work-related stress, money-related stress, family-related stress, and health- and safety-related stress—provides insights into the global mental health landscape, highlighting which countries are performing well and which need improvement.

READ ALSO: ‘We Have A Problem’: Democrats In ‘Aggressive Panic’ Over Biden’s Debate Performance

The most stressful country in Africa, according to the report, is South Sudan, with a stress score of 45.68. Burundi follows closely with a score of 45.8, and the Central African Republic ranks next with a score of 46.07.

In 2023, the main sources of stress globally included money, the economy, and health issues, as highlighted in the CEOWORLD report.

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The analysis helps identify areas where mental health support is most needed and which countries are effectively managing stress among their populations.

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Here is a list of the top 10 most stressful countries in Africa:

Top 10 most stressful countries in Africa
1. South Sudan – 45.68
2 Burundi – 45.8
3 Central African Republic – 46.07
4 DR Congo – 46.24
5 Niger – 46.7
6 Mozambique – 47.23
7 Eritrea – 47.32
8 Malawi – 47.52
9 Liberia – 47.94
10 Chad – 48.05

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‘We Have A Problem’: Democrats In ‘Aggressive Panic’ Over Biden’s Debate Performance

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President Joe Biden was supposed to put the nation’s mind at ease over his physical and mental capacity with his debate showing Thursday night. But from the onset of the debate, the 81-year-old struggled seemingly even to talk, mostly summoning a weak, raspy voice.

In the opening minutes, the president repeatedly tripped over his words, misspoke and lost his train of thought.

In one of the most notable moments, Biden ended a rambling statement that lacked focus by saying, “We finally beat Medicare,” before moderators cut him off and transitioned back to Trump

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While Biden warmed up and gained more of a rhythm as the debate progressed, he struggled to land a punch against Trump.

According to NBC news, Trump, unleashing a torrent of bad information — didn’t hesitate to pounce on Biden, saying at one point that he didn’t understand what Biden had just said with regard to the border.

READ ALSO: Biden Falters In Fiery Debate With Trump

“I don’t know if he knows what he said either,” Trump said.

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Nearly an hour into the debate, a Biden aide and others familiar with his situation offered up an explanation for the president’s hoarseness: He has a cold.

Even the Biden campaign acknowledged that the debate would be a critical moment in the election, with officials hoping it could shake up the race to the president’s benefit. Most polls have found the race to be neck and neck, a razor-thin margin that has remained unchanged for months, even after a jury found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts.

Questions about Biden’s age and frailty have dragged down his polling numbers for months. The public concerns are exacerbated by deceptively edited videos, some of which have gone viral, that cut off relevant portions of an event, making it appear as if Biden is wandering or confused. This was Biden’s first opportunity — since the State of the Union speech — to dispel that narrative.

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Instead of a new beginning, many Democrats saw it as a moment for panic.

“Democrats just committed collective suicide,” said one party strategist who has worked on presidential campaigns. “Biden sounds hoarse, looks tired and is babbling. He is reaffirming everything voters already perceived. President Biden can’t win. This debate is a nail in the political coffin.“

“It’s hard to argue that we shouldn’t nominate someone else,” a Democratic consultant who works on down-ballot races added.

Biden did ramp up as the debate progressed.

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“Only one of us is a convicted felon, and I’m looking at him,” Biden said to Trump. That was one moment that tested really well with internal simultaneous Biden campaign polling at the time of the debate, according to a person familiar.

A Biden aide said that it was “not an ideal start” for the president at the beginning of the debate, but that there was “no mass panic” at the campaign headquarters in Delaware.

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Trump, meanwhile, has fended off his own questions over whether he’s diminished by age, including that he struggles to stay on topic and meanders when speaking. Biden has posited that the former president “snapped” after his 2020 election loss and is unstable. Biden, though, had prepped for the possibility of “two Trumps” appearing on the debate stage Thursday, and had planned to try to bait him into revealing “the true Trump.”

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The muting of the microphones, a stipulation agreed to before the debate by both campaigns, added a new dimension to the face-off. The two men’s first match-up in 2020 was marked by repeated interruptions by Trump, leading to moments of frustration for Biden.

“Will you shut up, man?” Biden complained in that first Cleveland debate.

“I’m thinking the Democrats are thinking about who the Barry Goldwater is who can walk in tomorrow and tell the president he needs to step aside,” Ben Proto, chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party, said.

In 1974, after key Watergate tapes were made public, then-Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., went to see President Richard Nixon along with other prominent lawmakers and told him that he would be convicted by the Senate and should step aside— which Nixon did

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JUST IN: Tinubu Makes Eight New Appointments

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President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of eight new Federal Permanent Secretaries to fill existing and impending vacancies of some states and geo-political zones in the Civil Service.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President, Media and Publicity, said in a statement on Friday that the new Permanent Secretaries were appointed after a diligent selection process by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

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The are: Dr Emanso Umobong Okop – Akwa-Ibom, Mr Obi Emeka Vitalis – Anambra, Mahmood Fatima Sugra Tabi’a – Bauchi, Danjuma Mohammed Sanusi – Jigawa, Olusanya Olubunmi – Ondo, Dr Keshinro Maryam Ismaila – Zamfara, Akujobi Chinyere Ijeoma (South-East) and Isokpunwu Christopher Osaruwanmwen (South-South).

“The President anticipates that the new Federal Permanent Secretaries will exercise absolute dedication, diligence and fidelity to the nation in the discharge of their functions and ensure optimum service delivery to the Nigerian people,” said the statement.

(NAN)

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