In Kenya, the president has called himself a liar and pledged to solve economic woes by advocating for ordinary citizens to take up leadership positions. Nonetheless, when he had to drop a contentious tax rise that sent the capital city, Nairobi into deadly mayhem, there was no doubt that his support had wavered.
On Tuesday, demonstrators protesting against the tax increase bill attacked parliament and set parts of it on fire while legislators rushed out of chambers. The streets were strewn with corpses and policemen said that EMTs had fired rounds at them. Troops have been deployed.
William Ruto President The legislature passed the law despite opposition from youth-led protest movement who described it as treachery after demonstrators invaded parliament houses. However, with an increasingly tense atmosphere in Nairobi as troops took their positions and tear gas filled the air, on Wednesday he admitted that “I am aware we have created widespread dissatisfaction” and added “I will not sign this Bill.”
What follows is a look into East Africa’s most democratic nation being in unrest and Kenyan government harshest attack yet after decades.
From web data to diapers financial bill This includes internet data, fuel, bank transfers, nappies etc., which aims at raising or introducing charges on everyday items. As anger mounted some steps were backtracked. The measures are part of a bid by the Kenyan authorities to raise domestic revenue by $2.7bn.
The government claims these changes are needed so as to service debts interests nationally; reduce budget deficit; keep running government services but protestors view it as punitive since they can hardly afford buying basic commodities.
Ruto also signed into law Finance Bill 2023 which is also unpopular and contains among other things housing wage taxation but little is known about protestation too much though.
Protests led by youth Kenyan youths have been organizing on social media to stage peaceful street demonstrations aimed at forcing authorities to abandon the finance bill entirely. The protests began on June 18 after the bill was first made public.
The demonstrations started in Nairobi but have now spread elsewhere in Kenya, to Mombasa city on the Indian Ocean and even Eldoret, a town in Rift Valley region that has been considered as president’s stronghold.
Kenya’s political opposition walked out of a meeting where the bill was being passed on Tuesday.
Kenya has experienced protests before, but now there are more dangers. According to activists and others from Kenya who want to remain anonymous,
“These are new people. This is an unpredictable bunch,” commented Herman Manyola – an analyst and professor at Nairobi University. “We don’t know whether these guys can withstand military intervention.”
Deadly violence Ruto deployed police and soldiers to quell the protests, angering demonstrators and escalating the situation. On Tuesday, Kenya National Human Rights Commission said 22 people died while police were accused of shooting some. The Chairperson Roseline Odede confirmed that fifty people had been detained.
Ruto admitted loss of lives without going into details justifying it as “unfortunate”. He also revealed that nearly two hundred individuals got wounded during this confusion.
Being an untrustworthy guy for the 2022 election, Ruto has told Kenyans that each one of them should pay their own fair part in taxes. Now there are few Kenyans who use this term to describe him, calling him “Zakayo,” after the biblical tax collector Zacchaeus. To majority of people his radical stand was viewed as a variety of authoritarianism that was out of touch with the realities of common man.
The President threatened to ignore the court order after his tax advice was blocked by some courts in 2023. In response, the Kenya Bar Association leaders criticized Ruto accusing him of considering himself above the law.
Ruto’s denigration against the judiciary is considered by pro-democracy activists to be dictatorial manifestations. Ruto and Daniel arap Moi, his mentor and Kenya’s former president during a long period under one-party rule are like two peas in a pod according to some analysts.
Ruto is an ordinary Joe who presented himself as an outsider during the presidential races and promised to implement measures aimed at putting more money into pockets of Kenyans. However, when his government had scrapped essential fuel and maize meal subsidies that were crucial for those very supporters known as “charlatans,” they became exasperated with him. This move appeared like betrayal for many Kenyans.
Ruto is now stinking rich but he always talks about tightening belts among kenyans. However, in May this year when he paid a state visit to United States he chartered a luxurious private jet instead of using either presidential plane or Kenya national carrier causing controversy. The vice president later said that it had been paid for by his anonymous friend.
