Kenya police resorted to using tear gas on Tuesday in order to disperse a crowd of activists who were trying to pile up pressure on President William Ruto following his several concessions to the protesters’ demands.
Activists who have been spearheading weeks of protests, initially sparked by proposed tax hikes, made the call for a “complete” paralysis of the country’s activities on Tuesday.
However, even after the president pulled back $2.7 billion worth of tax increases and sacked most of his cabinet, these demonstrations are still the worst political crisis that has faced Ruto in his two-year term although with reduced numbers.
Many demonstrators demand that Ruto resigns as they believe he is responsible for bad governance, corruption and dozens of people being killed in previous anti-government marches.
Reuters reporters said around 200 protesters burnt tires and chanted “Ruto must go” and “Stop killing us” while police fired teargas at Kitengela, a town on Nairobi’s southern outskirts on Tuesday.(Kitendo cha polisi)
Some dozen protestors calling for him to quit were met by riot police officers who also threw canisters with tear gas in downtown Nairobi. Footage from Kenyan media showed demonstrators in Mombasa along the coast waving palm fronds as they marched through city streets.
The office of Mr. Ruto had announced that it was planning multi-sectoral talks this week to look into some grievances addressed by the protestors but there were no signs that they had begun. Most leading campaigners against these demonstrations shunned it and instead pressed for immediate action over issues like graft.
Ruto’s spokesperson did not respond immediately when asked whether he had any comment about these accusations.
Lenders want Kenya’s fiscal deficit cut because debt repayments suck more than 30% of budget revenues out while millions struggle under soaring living costs.
The protests started peacefully then became violent. Some demonstrators briefly occupied parliament building on June 25th where the police opened fire. The human rights groups claim that over 40 people have been killed in these riots.
On Monday, Ruto implied that the Ford Foundation, an American philanthropic association, was behind “violence and mayhem” in Kenya but he did not provide any evidence.
The Ford Foundation denied this allegation stating that it had not sponsored or funded the protests and its grant-making was strictly non-partisan.
