6/25/2024–|Last updated: 6/25/202411:12 PM (Mecca time)
10 demonstrators were killed and dozens injured by police, today, Tuesday, near the headquarters of the Kenyan Parliament in the capital Nairobiduring protests against a controversial tax hike bill that has sparked widespread anger in the country, as the president vowed to take a tough stance against “violence and chaos.”
Eyewitnesses reported to Reuters that parts of Parliament caught fire, after demonstrators stormed the complex, where lawmakers approved the bill.
A medic outside Parliament said that at least 50 people were injured as a result of police shooting and tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators who had gathered in the place.
Organizers called for protests and a general strike across the board Kenya Against tax legislation, seeking to exploit a movement that, within a week, turned a youth-led online movement into a major crisis for the government.
It’s getting overwhelming for police. Protesters in the hundreds charging to city hall, headed for parliament. pic.twitter.com/KryN7Pp4SY
– Chris Sambu (@the_sambu) June 25, 2024
Additional taxes
The bill that was passed aims to collect additional taxes worth $2.7 billion, as part of efforts to reduce the burden of the debt-laden budget deficit, as interest payments alone consume 37% of annual revenues.
Thousands took to the streets of Nairobi and several other cities in two days of protests over the past week.
Reuters journalists said police fired tear gas as small groups of protesters began gathering in the central business district and Kibera early on Tuesday, with some chanting slogans against President William Ruto.
Footage shown on Kenyan television showed hundreds of demonstrators also gathering in the streets of the coastal city of Mombasa.
The president threatens
Kenyan President William Ruto pledged to reporters in Nairobi, saying, “We will respond fully, effectively, and quickly to the treasonous events that occurred today,” considering that “dangerous people have hijacked” the demonstrations.
“It is neither appropriate nor even logical for criminals pretending to be peaceful to be able to carry out terrorism against the people, their elected representatives and institutions established under our Constitution, and expect impunity,” Ruto added.
He warned “planners, financiers, coordinators and instigators of violence and chaos.”
Although last week’s protests in Nairobi were almost all peaceful, according to human rights organizations, police fired tear gas, repeatedly used water cannons, and two people were reported killed, one of whom was injured by a gunshot and the other by a tear gas canister.
It is noteworthy that Kenyan President William Ruto won the elections that took place almost two years ago on the basis of a program that defends the poor, but he found himself stuck between the strong demands of lenders such as the International Monetary Fund, which urges the government to reduce the deficit, and among the population suffering from the high cost of living. .
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