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Kenya’s President William Ruto has returned a highly contentious finance law back to parliament for revisions after declining to sign it on Wednesday, sparking national fatal protests.
Just minutes after lawmakers passed tax increases aiming to raise an extra $2.7 billion, police opened fire on throngs of people assembling around parliament on Tuesday and then broke into parliament premises.
Wednesday saw Kenyan demonstrators vowing to continue their protests against new tax hikes, one day after violent riots across the nation and outside parliament claimed the lives of at least 23 people and injured numerous others.
According to sources in Ruto’s office, the president has put forth a number of revisions that members of parliament would need to take into consideration, as stated by The Star newspaper. Ruto, who has been in office for nearly two years and is currently dealing with the worst situation imaginable, will address the country.
Supporters of the week-old protest movement took to X, using the hashtag #tutanethursday, which translates to “see you on Thursday” in a combination of Swahili and English, as heavily armed police patrolled the streets of Nairobi, the country’s capital.
In the worst crisis of President William Ruto’s two-year reign, a nationwide protest movement demanding a political transformation has emerged from an internet outpouring of resentment over tax rises.
Protests were reported by The Nation newspaper in at least 35 of Kenya’s 47 counties, ranging from large cities to rural areas, including Eldoret, the hometown of Ruto in his home region of Kalenjin ethnicity.
According to the Kenya Medical Association, at least 23 people have died across Kenya and another 30 were receiving medical attention for gunshot wounds.
Six protestors were murdered, and their bodies were taken to the capital’s major public mortuary, according to a police officer stationed there. According to two health officials, 160 patients with injuries and two more bodies were admitted to the Kenyatta National Hospital.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
