The Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives (KNUN) announced on Monday that it will provide free medical care to all demonstrators injured during the ongoing protests against the Finance Bill 2024.
The union’s Secretary General, Seth Panyako, emphasized that this initiative is in line with Kenyan law, which guarantees every citizen the right to medical care.
“We hereby request our members to join other health workers and volunteers to provide first aid to our citizens in the event of injuries during the peaceful demonstrations,”
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has issued a set of guidelines for protesters, stating that they would be denied access to critical infrastructure or assets. He emphasized that protesters must not obstruct, block, vandalize, or destroy any private or public property and must adhere to the laws of Kenya, including the Protected Areas Act, which limits access to certain critical infrastructure for national security reasons.
He also specified that they must not access critical infrastructure for the supply of power or other amenities.
The government’s stance comes after last week’s decision to remove some of the more contentious clauses from the Finance Bill in an attempt to quell the rising unrest. However, protesters have rejected these partial concessions, insisting that the bill should be scrapped entirely. They argue that the root issues lie not in revenue collection but in systemic corruption and uncontrolled government spending.
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