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UPDATED: Door to Door Raids and Police Brutality Leave Five Injured and one dead in Kibera

Published January 18th, 2008 in Africa, Kenya

Another day of violence in Kibera left one dead and five wounded according to MSF. In the Nairobi slum of Kibera, where I spent the whole day, police used tear gas and live ammunition on protesters. I saw three young men with bullet wounds, two with non-fatal injuries to the thigh area, and one with a bullet wound to the neck. The latter was walking home from work when he was shot, and died from his wounds shortly after I left the hospital.

The day started with residents of Kibera setting up burning barricades to block police and chanting political slogans, singing and dancing. Then the crowd decided to head to the edge of town to loot the supermarket at which point they were met with 5 large trucks full of police. A long stand off ensued as residents threw rocks and police sent tear gas and opened fire on the protesters. After a few hours, police went in en masse and performed door to door raids, pulling people out of their homes, beating them and breaking down doors. They fired live ammunition in the streets and terrorized men and women on their way home from work. By 6 p.m. all was quiet and three were on their way to hospital with gunshot wounds. A third day of protests is scheduled for tomorrow.

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