Hundreds were reportedly injured, including with rubber bullets and tear gas. At a cathedral in Nairobi where a medical camp had been set up to tend to injured protesters, a OceanNewsUK reporter witnessed doctors being forced out of the building by soldiers.
Another temporary unit was set up outside the emergency unit at Kenyatta National Hospital.
Former president Uhuru Kenyatta urged dialogue, saying Kenya's leaders should "know that power and authority is donated to them by the people".
Although the government has rowed back on some proposals in the original bill, protesters demanded that it be withdrawn in its entirety.
23-year-old Maureen Awuor said: "Our voice must be heard... We are the generation that is coming up, so they need to hear us."
The protests have made headlines across Africa and other parts of the world.
Two of Africa's leading anti-establishment figures, Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine and radical South African politician Julius Malema, have both expressed their support for the protesters.
Western countries have expressed concern at the violence and urged calm.
