Kenyan President William Ruto has backtracked on a contentious tax-hiking finance bill, after street protests on Tuesday left at least 20 people dead and more than 150 injured when police opened fire with live ammunition.
The youth-led protests were triggered by a range of proposed new taxes that critics say will increase the financial burden on families already struggling with rising prices.
On Wednesday, in a televised address, Ruto said he would withdraw the bill as “members of the public insist on the need for us to make more concessions. The people have spoken.”
Crowds of mostly young people took over the central business district in the capital, Nairobi, on Tuesday and then stormed parliament, setting part of the building on fire.
The government had declared a “security emergency” and deployed the military to support the police – a move that technically requires parliamentary approval. Ruto claimed the protests had been infiltrated by organised criminals whose actions were “treasonous”.
Prior to Tuesday’s demonstrations, Amnesty International reported that 21 social media activists had been abducted by state security agents as the government moved to curb the growing dissent.
The New Humanitarian’s contributor Anthony Langat spent Tuesday with protestors, who explained why they had taken to the streets to demonstrate.
*Casualty figures have been updated
Edited by Obi Anyadike
