In response to nationwide protests against Finance Bill 2024, Kenyan President William Ruto condemned the demonstrations as "treasonous" and directed security forces to use all necessary means to maintain national security. The protests in Nairobi resulted in eight deaths and over 150 injuries on Tuesday.
NAIROBI, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President William Ruto termed Tuesday's street protests as "treasonous," noting that his government will soon provide an expeditious response to the situation.
In his televised address to the nation Tuesday night, Ruto said the government has mobilized all resources to ensure the situation does not occur again "at whatever cost." He directed security organs to use all means possible to thwart any threats to national security.
"It is possible that the criminals who reigned terror on innocent people and challenged our security organs are likely to continue with this behavior," said Ruto, warning that the planners, financiers and abetters of the protests would not go "scot-free."
Thousands of protesters across the country took to the streets to oppose the Finance Bill passed by the lawmakers Tuesday morning, which aims to raise an additional 346.7 billion shillings (about 2.7 billion U.S. dollars) of taxes to reduce the budget deficit and state borrowing.
The bill was amended to remove a proposed 16-percent VAT on bread, transportation of sugar, financial services, and foreign exchange transactions, as well as a 2.5-percent motor vehicle tax. There will be no increase in mobile money transfer fees, and excise duty on vegetable oil has been removed. And levies on the housing fund and a proposed one on social health insurance will not attract income tax.
The legislators also imposed an eco-levy on imported items like smartphones and electronics, noting they end up as electronic waste damaging the environment.
The protesters, however, are adamant there are some hidden clauses in the bill that would make life difficult for them.
The protesters gathered in various towns across the country, including the capital Nairobi, and the march soon turned violent.
In Nairobi, chanting anti-government slogans despite police firing live bullets in the air, protesters breached the heavily guarded premises at about 3:00 p.m., local time, and entered Kenya's parliament compound, destroying property and setting fire to a section of the building.
At least eight protesters were shot dead and more than 150 others were injured during the chaos in Kenya Tuesday, said sources.
Ruto, who won the elections in August 2022 on a platform of helping the poor, has been under pressure to raise additional revenues amid rising government debt repayments.
Besides the parliament, protesters in Nairobi on Tuesday also raided the City County Government, vandalizing property and setting ablaze some offices.
The protests in the capital brought business to a standstill, with all the shops in the central business district remaining shut.
Public transport was disrupted across Nairobi, and many operators of commuter buses grounded their vehicles, leaving office workers stranded, with many of them opting to walk for kilometers away from the central business district to try and get vehicles home.
In Nyeri, protesters, besides marching on the streets and chanting anti-tax slogans, stormed a retail outlet, looting goods.
A similar incident was reported in Eldoret, the president's political bedrock, where hundreds of protesters took to the streets, demanding that the government withdraw the new taxation measures. Similar scenes were witnessed in several other towns.
President Ruto said in his TV address that the government would not tolerate crimes masked as democratic expression. "The government will secure the nation, and any threats to national security are a danger to the Republic and will be dealt with," he said.
The president stressed that the national conversation on what affects the nation would only be done under the rule of law, constitutionalism, and respect for the nation.
Kenya Defense Forces troops were deployed Tuesday in support of the National Police Service in response to the security emergency caused by the ongoing protests across the country, said Aden Duale, the cabinet secretary for defense.
In a statement issued Tuesday, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta appealed for calm and dialogue, saying that he is saddened by the loss of lives occasioned by the protests.
Kenyatta asked elected leaders to listen to the people's grievances, calling for calm and for the leadership "to show restraint and do the right thing by listening to the people and not be antagonistic to them." ■