NAIROBI:
Kenya’s president on Wednesday withdrew planned tax hikes, bowing to pressure from protesters who stormed parliament, launched protests across the country and threatened more action this week.
William Ruto said he would not sign a finance bill, including the increases, a day after violent clashes between police and protesters in the assembly and across the country left at least 23 dead and many injured, according to doctors.
“Listening strongly to the people of Kenya who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this Finance Bill 2024, I concede that. And therefore, I will not sign the Finance Bill 2024 and it will then be withdrawn,” he told the TV address .
Ruto said he would now open a dialogue with Kenya’s youth, without elaborating, and work on austerity measures – starting with cuts to the presidency’s budget – to close the gap in the country’s finances.
The move will be seen as a major victory for a week-long protest movement that has evolved from online condemnations of tax hikes to mass rallies demanding a political overhaul, the most serious crisis of Ruto’s two-year presidency.
It may remove the immediate threat of more unrest, but it still leaves Ruto caught between the competing demands of his hard-pressed citizens and lenders such as the IMF – which is urging the government to cut deficits to get more funding.
Read also: Kenya surprised by the murderous demonstrations
On Tuesday, police opened fire on crowds gathered around parliament and later stormed the assembly building, minutes after lawmakers voted on the tax measures and sent them to the president.
The Nation newspaper recorded protests in at least 35 of Kenya’s 47 counties, from major cities to rural areas – even in Ruto’s home town of Eldoret, the ethnic Kalenjin heartland.
At least 23 people have been killed across the East African country and 30 others are being treated for gunshot wounds, the Kenya Medical Association said on Wednesday. Medical officials in Nairobi said many were injured.
Protesters had earlier vowed to continue their protests with messages on social media using the hashtag #tupatanethursday or “see you Thursday” in a combination of Swahili and English.
Posts on social media urged people to occupy State House, the president’s office and residence on Thursday, and the local offices of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday, although it was not immediately clear whether the calls came from individuals or from a wider movement.
Read: Protesters set fire to Kenya’s parliament
Heavily armed police patrolled the streets of the capital Nairobi, which were quieter than usual on Wednesday.
The protests began as an online outburst of outrage from tech-savvy young Kenyans over proposed taxes on bread and diapers and grew into a nationwide movement calling for the entire fiscal bill, including the taxes, to be scrapped.
Thousands took to the streets of Nairobi and several other cities during two days of protests last week as an online movement gathered momentum.
Protests in Kenya have typically been sparked by political leaders who are amenable to negotiated settlements. But the young Kenyans in the current protests have no formal leader and are growing bolder in their demands.
Lawmakers had already removed some tax increases from the final version of the budget bill on Tuesday, including those on bread and cooking oil, but introduced others in an effort to avoid a budget hole.
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