Auma Obama is pictured on Nov. 18, 2021. | Source: picture alliance / Getty
An outpouring of tributes and praise on social media was being directed at former President Barack Obama’s half-sister after she and her daughter participated in protests that turned violent in Kenya’s capital city on Tuesday.
During the protests centered on a proposal that raises taxes, Auma Obama and her daughter were shown live on TV being teargassed.
Speaking to CNN corresponded Larry Madowo, Auma Obama described the conditions she and the people around her were experiencing from the chemical weapons being deployed by law enforcement.
“I can’t even see anymore, we’re being teargassed,” Auma Obama, and activist and the founder and director of the Sauti Kuu Foundation, which advocates for disabled children, said during the brief interview. “I’m here because look at what’s happening. Young Kenyans are demonstrating for their rights. They are demonstrating with flags and banners.”
Auma Obama is the daughter of Barack Obama Sr. and his first wife.
President Obama did not immediately respond to the protests. A message requesting comment from the Obama Foundation was not immediately returned.
On X, formerly Twitter, a growing number of people showered Auma Obama with praise for being on the front lines of the protest.
“You stood on the right side of history. We shall never forget you when the history is written. You honour us we honour you.. thank you,” one accounted posted on X.
“Thank you Auma. You honor us. We honor you. Thank you,” another wrote.
At least five people were reported dead and dozens more injured at the hands of Kenyan police amid the widespread protests in Nairobi after a proposed raise in taxes prompted an outburst of violence that reached the highest levels of the East African nation’s government.
Protesters stormed the Parliament building and partially set it on fire.
Photos and video footage show Kenyan police firing tear gas and chemically treated water at the crowds of young protesters who have targeted President William Ruto’s government.
The New York Times reported that the proposal that sparked the protests “introduces new taxes and levies that would increase the price of goods such as bread, diapers and cars. It increases import duties for goods, and raises taxes on telephone and internet data as well as money transfer fees charged by banks and other financial services. It also raises taxes for companies and operators of digital businesses such as ride-hailing and food-delivery services.”
CNN reported that Kenyan President Ruto addressed the nation on Tuesday and called the protests a “critical turning point” regarding what he described as “grave threats to our national security.” Ruto said the protesters – “a group of organized criminals,” as he called them – “infiltrated and hijacked” Kenya.
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