For weeks Kenya has been mired in protest. Confronted with demonstrators denouncing the tax policies of William Ruto, Kenya’s president, the security forces responded ruthlessly. They have killed 39 people, most of them in Nairobi on June 25th, when protesters briefly overran Parliament and set a portion of it ablaze. Looting has also erupted in several towns and cities, although it is unclear whether this was by state-backed provocateurs, as the protesters allege, or by opportunist criminals, as Mr Ruto claims.