The parliament burns and police shoot at protesters

Embu Fires: Protests against the New Taxes on a High-Centurional-Rate, Economic-Hop Region

The ruling party offices in Embu were burned down by protesters. Citizen TV showed footage from Nyeri in central Kenya with police confronting protesters in the smoking streets.

The bill imposing new taxes on a country that is the economic hub of East Africa has been the subject of protests for years. The youth took to the streets to protest, objecting to the pain of reforms, since they had voted to give President William Ruto a free ride after he promised economic relief.

But lawmakers voted to pass the bill, then fled through a tunnel as protesters, many of them youth, outmaneuvered police to enter parliament. Protesters allowed opposition legislators who voted against the bill to walk out of the besieged building. The fire was later put out.

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan President William Ruto says he will not sign into law a controversial tax bill that has sparked widespread protests across the country, but activists said demonstrations will continue.

The father of the president’s son and the youth of Kenya: Towards a resolution of the public anger over government corruption and taxes in the country

Police also threw tear gas at protesters who were trying to get medical assistance at a medical tent outside the parliament complex. According to the hospital, it had received 45 “victims.” It’s not clear if some of them were dead.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission shared a video of officers shooting at protesters and said they would be held to account, and it urged Ruto to issue an immediate order to “stop the killings.”

On Sunday, the son of the president tried to calm down the public’s anger by saying he was proud of the young people who had come out to exercise their democratic duty. He said he would engage them on their concerns.

The youth last week said they were together to keep the government in check as prices for everything have gone up. In Nairobi, a regional hub for expatriates and home to a major United Nations complex, the inequality among Kenyans has sharpened along with long-held frustrations over state corruption.

Opposition to the finance bill has united a large part of the country, with some explicitly rejecting the tribal divisions that had torn Kenya apart in the past. Some people who had supported him felt betrayed.

The witnesses said that protesters tried to storm the State House. The city of Kisumu has its fair share of fighting. The governor of the second largest city in the country joined protesters outside of his office and expressed his support.

One media outlet, broadcaster KTN, issued a statement saying that “we have received threats from the authorities to shut us down” as coverage continued.

A group of catholic bishop urged police not to attack protesters and called on the government to listen to the people’s pain over taxes. The families are very sad.

Ugandan Prime Minister Ruto says the finance bill ‘nothing to do with a UN-backed force against gangs’

The Kenya Law Society President Faith Odhiambo said earlier Tuesday that 50 Kenyans, including her personal assistant, had been “abducted” by people believed to be police officers.

Civil society groups say those who were vocal in the demonstrations and were taken from their homes, workplaces and public spaces are among the missing.

The police officials did not return calls. The speaker had directed the inspector general of police to give information on where those who have been kidnapped are.

Hundreds of police officers from the African nation of Uganda arrived Tuesday in Haiti to lead a UN-backed force against gangs that have control over the country. The deployment faces a legal challenge in Kenya but Ruto’s government has gone ahead, with the thanks of U.S. President Joe Biden.

“Listening keenly to the people of Kenya who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this finance bill 2024, I concede, and therefore I will not sign the 2024 finance bill and it shall subsequently be withdrawn,” Ruto said in a national address on Wednesday.

He acknowledged the country has “witnessed widespread expression of dissatisfaction” over Tuesday’s vote in parliament, where lawmakers approved the bill, and he expressed regret at the loss of life and destruction of property during the protests.

The president said the government would widen austerity measures, which include cuts to travel and hotel expenses. He has sent the bill back to parliament for amendments.

“Gen Z” protests against the Ruto’s bill 2024 raising taxes on the first Latin American president in charge of trespassing

Protesters plan to march across the country on Thursday to demand the resignation of the president and all members of parliament who voted for the bill this week.

Protesters say that the lives of millions of young people who voted for him two years ago haven’t changed due to the protests.

It’s a big headache for Ruto, who has styled himself as a strong ally of the West but domestically faces serious questions over his handling of the protests.

Most of the protesters are young people, college students calling themselves the “Gen Z,” who galvanized much of the opposition to finance bill 2024 on social media.

The protesters said that the taxes would make life much harder because they’d make transportation and production more expensive, as well as raising the cost of things like cooking oil and sanitary pads.