Kenya is currently experiencing nationwide protests against proposed tax increases, leading to a planned “total shutdown” of the country.
These demonstrations, triggered by the Finance Bill 2024, have united citizens under the slogan “7 Days of Rage,” as the nation anticipates more days of unrest.
Multiple reports coming in from Kenya indicate several casualties in the capital, Nairobi, with BBC reporting multiple deaths of at least five people in Kenya, with part of the parliament building set alight.
Police fired live rounds at protesters on Tuesday, leading to several deaths and hundreds of injuries.
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Protesters argue that the proposed bill will bring an undue burden on citizens and gravely affect businesses which are already affected due to the unfavourable economic climate.
Last week, the government was compelled to amend its bill after numerous demonstrators gathered outside the parliament building.
According to a statement from Kenya’s presidency, the suspended taxes include a 16% value-added tax on bread and a 2.5% tax on motor vehicles.
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Elizabeth Puranam of Aljazeera talks about the chronicle of the protest with Stella Agara, a Tax justice activist and African governance and security analyst, Reginald Kadzutu, a Finance economist at Oxford Brooks University and Nicodemus Minde, a Researcher with the East Africa Peace and Security Governance Program at the Institute for Security Studies.
On Wednesday, June 26, William Ruto announced his intention to reject and withdraw the controversial Finance Bill that has sparked a lot of unrest in the country.
His decision follows a series of protests led predominantly by the youth across Kenya.
“Listening keenly to the people of Kenya who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this finance bill 2024, I concede. And therefore, I will not sign the 2024 finance bill, and it shall subsequently be withdrawn,” he said in a televised address.
A few hours before declaring his withdrawal, in a nationwide address following the arson attack on Parliament, Ruto described Tuesday’s events as a severe threat to “national security” and stated that the discussion surrounding the bill had been “hijacked by dangerous people.”
“It is not in order, or even conceivable, that criminals pretending to be peaceful protesters can reign terror against the people, their elected representatives, and the institutions established under our Constitution and expect to go scot-free,” the president said, adding that democratic expression and crime must be isolated from one another.
