Kenya?s interior minister has denied that the police used excessive force during Wednesday?s protests in which at least 10 people were killed, describing them as ?terrorism disguised as dissent? and an ?unconstitutional attempt? to change the government.

Kipchumba Murkomen thanked security agencies for their ?remarkable restraint amid extreme provocation? crediting them with helping to ?foil an attempted coup?.

In addition to the 10 deaths, more than 400 others were injured, including about 300 police officers, he said.

?We condemn the criminal anarchists who in the name of peaceful demonstrations unleashed a wave of violence, looting, sexual assault and destruction upon our people,? he said.

Key government installations and offices were targeted in the protests, he added, with nine police stations attacked, five of which were torched ? and five guns stolen.

Dozens of vehicles, belonging to the police, government and civilians, were destroyed, he said.

Murkomen said that investigations were under way into the exact number of casualties and the circumstances around the violence.

Rights group Amnesty International has put the death toll at 16, saying that all those who died had gunshot wounds.

Nineteen-year-old David Mwangi, who lived in Nairobi?s Mukuru informal settlement, was one of those who was shot dead.

His mother told the BBC that he was a bystander who had gone to pick up his younger brother from a tuition class. A tearful Rachael Nyambura Mwangi said that a bullet had gone through her son?s head.

?I am in so much pain,? she said.

?David was hoping to go to college to become a mechanic. He was my first-born and he was my helper. If I needed to fetch water or get something I would send him. I sell sweet potatoes and whenever I needed to get my stock I would send him.?

Student Dennis Njuguna, 17, was shot dead in Molo, 170km (100 miles) north-west of Nairobi shortly after the end of the school day.

?I don?t know if he was in the midst of the protesters or a stray bullet him. I don?t know but I heard he was shot, fell down and died on the spot,? his mother Jecinta Gathoni said.

?My child was still young, he was in his final year of secondary school. He had his dreams, I also had a lot of hope in him. I have not even gathered the courage to go to the morgue to see his body.?

The protests marked the first anniversary of a previous wave of deadly anti-government demonstrations.

On Wednesday, thousands took to the streets across to voice anger with President William Ruto?s government, and to demand an end to police brutality.

Many of those demonstrating chanted ?Ruto must go? and waved branches as a symbol of peaceful opposition to his rule.

The government banned live TV and radio coverage of the protests, although its decree was overturned by the Nairobi High Court. The ban has since been lifted.

Rights groups have condemned the actions of the police and state.

The Law Society of Kenya said there had been ?unnecessary aggression and brute force? by security officers, which it said had led to ?senseless loss of life?.

On Wednesday, human rights groups said three police officers had been injured. (BBC)

?Demonstrators kick back teargas canisters shot by police during a protest in the central business district of Nairobi on Wednesday. Photograph: Daniel Irungu/EPA

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