A mother's pain as the first victim of Kenya's deadly protests is buried

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Edith Wanjiku holds onto one of the few photos she’s left with of her teenage son Ibrahim Kamau. His life was cut short by two gunshot wounds to his neck that were sustained during Kenya’s deadly protests on Tuesday in which more than 20 people were killed.

The 19-year-old Kamau was among thousands of protesters who stormed parliament while calling for legislators to vote against a finance bill that would increase taxes. Police opened fire and several people were killed on the spot.

Kamau had just completed high school and planned to study electrical work.

“He was operating a motorcycle taxi while he waits to join college,” Wanjiku told The Associated Press during her son’s funeral on Friday.

Kamau was the first victim of Tuesday's protests to be buried in a Muslim ceremony that was attended by hundreds, including the area's member of parliament, Yusuf Hassan.

As Wanjiku stood outside the Muslim cemetery in Nairobi’s Kariakor neighborhood, she was overwhelmed by emotions and had to be whisked away to sit down.

“It is so painful. I’m still in disbelief and keep hoping he will wake up,” she says.

The mother of four struggled to educate Kamau and his older sister by doing menial work while living in Nairobi’s Biafra slum.

“I don’t even have many photos of him, because I lost them when our house burned down some years back,” she says.

Tuesday’s deadly protests were called by young people who felt let down by legislators who voted for a controversial finance bill during its second reading. They had hoped to convince the legislators not to pass the bill in the final vote and when it sailed through, they stormed into parliament and burnt part of the building.

Human rights groups have accused police of brutality and killings during the protests. The policing oversight body IPOA on Wednesday released preliminary findings on investigations into police conduct during the protests that showed plainclothes officers shooting at protesters. The body has summoned some officers to record statements.

Another victim of Tuesday’s shooting, Ian Keya, has undergone surgery at a hospital in Nairobi but he “may never walk again,” his brother told the AP on Friday.

Keya was shot in his back three times by a plainclothes officer, according to witnesses who told his brother.

“The shots were close range, and one may have damaged his kidney while the other hit the spine,” his brother, Edward, told the AP.

The discontent among young people is growing despite President William Ruto saying he wouldn't sign the contentious bill and sending it back to parliament for deletion of clauses that would increase taxes on common goods like imported eggs, sanitary towels and diapers to meet a budget deficit.

Ruto was elected in 2022 on a platform of change and hope for young people. He promised to lower the cost of living, but his move to increase taxes in the 2023 finance bill and this recent one has made him unpopular.

His deputy president, Rigathi Gachagua, on Wednesday questioned how a government that was a “darling” of the people became so unpopular to cause an assault on parliament.

The president and his deputy are now banking on dialogue to provide an opportunity for young people to express their concerns and make suggestions. But the Generation Z movement that called the protests is leaderless and it remains unclear how the dialogue will be had.

Ruto on Wednesday announced austerity measures that include the cutting down of his own travel and hospitality budget, which has been a major concern for the young people struggling to get by.

For Wanjiku, all she wants is, “justice for my son and for the president to ensure no one else is killed in this country.”

A relative closes the eyes of a protester allegedly shot by police at the Nairobi funeral home, Kenya Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Thousands of protesters stormed and burned a section of Kenya's parliament Tuesday to protest tax proposals. Police responded with gunfire and several protesters were killed. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Relatives and friends bury the body of 19-year-old Ibrahim Kamau, at the Kariakor cemetery in Nairobi, Kenya Friday, June 28, 2024. Kamau was shot during a protest on Tuesday against the government proposed tax bill. Protesters stormed parliament on Tuesday and drew police fire in chaos that left several people dead. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Relatives carry the body of 19-year-old Ibrahim Kamau for burial, at the Kariakor cemetery in Nairobi, Kenya Friday, June 28, 2024. Kamau was shot during a protest on Tuesday against the government proposed tax bill. Protesters stormed parliament on Tuesday and drew police fire in chaos that left several people dead. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Relatives and friends pray over the body of 19-year-old Ibrahim Kamau at his burial, at the Kariakor cemetery in Nairobi, Kenya Friday, June 28, 2024. Kamau was shot during a protest on Tuesday against the government proposed tax bill. Protesters stormed parliament on Tuesday and drew police fire in chaos that left several people dead. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Relatives carry the body of 19-year-old Ibrahim Kamau for burial, at the Kariakor cemetery in Nairobi, Kenya Friday, June 28, 2024. Kamau was shot during a protest on Tuesday against the government proposed tax bill. Protesters stormed parliament on Tuesday and drew police fire in chaos that left several people dead. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Relatives and friends pray over the body of 19-year-old Ibrahim Kamau at Masjid Ul Rahma prior burial in Nairobi, Kenya Friday, June 28, 2024. Kamau was shot during a protest on Tuesday against the government proposed tax bill. Protesters stormed parliament on Tuesday and drew police fire in chaos that left several people dead. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Relatives and friends wait outside a house as the body of 19-year-old Ibrahim Kamau is prepared prior to burial, in Nairobi, Kenya Friday, June 28, 2024. Kamau was shot during a protest on Tuesday against the government proposed tax bill. Protesters stormed parliament on Tuesday and drew police fire in chaos that left several people dead. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Relatives and friends bury the body of 19-year-old Ibrahim Kamau, at the Kariakor cemetery in Nairobi, Kenya Friday, June 28, 2024. Kamau was shot during a protest on Tuesday against the government proposed tax bill. Protesters stormed parliament on Tuesday and drew police fire in chaos that left several people dead, reportedly as many as 22. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Edith Wanjiku, left, weeps after viewing the body of her son, who was allegedly shot by police during Tuesday's protest at the Nairobi funeral home, Kenya Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Thousands of protesters stormed and burned a section of Kenya's parliament Tuesday to protest tax proposals. Police responded with gunfire and several protesters were killed. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Edith Wanjiku shows a photo of his son 19-year-old Ibrahim Kamau at her home in the Majengo low-income neighborhood in Nairobi, Kenya Friday, June 28, 2024. Kamau was shot during a protest on Tuesday against the government proposed tax bill. Protesters stormed parliament on Tuesday and drew police fire in chaos that left several people dead. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

DONETSK REGION, Ukraine (AP) — Drone footage from Ukraine’s military released Sunday has shown what appears to be bodies in a civilian area in the embattled town of Toretsk in the east of the country.

The town in the war-torn Donetsk region has come under heavy Russian bombardment in recent days, prompting a scaled-up evacuation effort by Ukrainian rescue services.

Local officials said that powerful Russian glide bombs have also been used in the town, the latest eastern front flash point as Russian attacks continue to put stretched Ukrainian front-line units on the defensive.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Russia had dropped more than 800 glide bombs in Ukraine in the past week alone.

“Ukraine needs the necessary means to destroy the carriers of these bombs, including Russian combat aircraft, wherever they are. This step is essential,” he wrote in an online post.

Police rescuers in Toretsk helped older residents out of their homes, carrying one woman out of her bed and onto a stretcher.

Evacuee Oksana Zharko, 48, left her home with family members and her cat in a plastic carrier box.

“It’s a terrible situation, because for three days we could not evacuate,” she told The Associated Press while leaving the town in a police van.

“Yesterday there was an attack and our house was destroyed — very strong, there are no walls left. Everyone is stressed, emotional, in tears. It’s very scary.”

Russian attacks in recent weeks have focused on the town of Chasiv Yar further north as Ukrainian commanders in the area say their resources remain stretched, thanks largely to a monthslong gap in military assistance from the United States.

Ukraine is still struggling to stabilize parts of its front line after desperately needed military assistance was approved by the United States in April.

Zelenskyy called on countries assisting Ukraine to further relax restrictions on using Western weapons to strike military targets inside Russia.

“Clear decisions are needed to help protect our people,” he said. “Long-range strikes and modern air defense are the foundation for stopping the daily Russian terror. I thank all our partners who understand this.”

Earlier, Russian missiles slammed into a town in southern Ukraine, killing seven civilians, including children, and wounding dozens, local authorities reported.

Ukrainian officials published photos of bodies stretched out under picnic blankets in a park in Vilniansk, and deep craters in the blackened earth next to the charred, twisted remains of a building.

At least 38 people were wounded in Saturday evening's attack, authorities said, and declared a day of mourning on Sunday. Vilniansk is in the Zaporizhzhia region, less than 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the local capital and north of the front lines, as Russian forces continue to occupy part of the province.

Russia-appointed officials in Donetsk, which is partially occupied and illegally annexed by Moscow, said that Ukrainian shelling on Sunday wounded a 4-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl. According to Russia’s Emergencies Ministry, four of its staff also came under shelling Sunday as they attempted to put out a fire in the Kremlin-occupied local capital, also called Donetsk.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday reported its forces overnight shot down three dozen Ukrainian drones over six regions in Russia’s southwest. It later said that a total of 72 were downed on Saturday and during the night.

Debris from one drone fell on a village in the Kursk region, blowing out windows and damaging roofs and fences, according to a Telegram post by regional Gov. Aleksey Smirnov.

Joanna Kozlowska contributed to this report from London.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

A local woman tries to find a signal for her phone before she leaves her home during evacuation to safe areas, in Toretsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, June 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Zelenskyy appeals to West to relax targeting limits for Ukraine as glide bombs hammer front line

Police officers of the White Angels unit help an elderly woman walk into a van during an evacuation to safe areas, in Toretsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, June 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Zelenskyy appeals to West to relax targeting limits for Ukraine as glide bombs hammer front line