Heavy Police Presence As Kenyans Renew Protests Against Tax Hike

Dozens of Kenyans again took to the streets on Tuesday, facing a significant police presence, with many businesses closed as youth activists called for renewed protests.

The new protest follows last month’s anti-tax hike demonstrations which turned violent.

Despite President William Ruto’s announcement last week that he would not sign a controversial finance bill into law, activists have intensified their campaign against him even as the President described the protests as “treasonous.”

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) reported on Monday that 39 people had been killed and 361 injured during two weeks of demonstrations.

The commission also condemned the use of force against protesters as “excessive and disproportionate.”

In Nairobi’s central business district, the scene of previous rallies, the streets were quiet on Tuesday morning with police patrolling the area.

Local politician John Kwenya expressed frustration over businesses closing, noting, “They are scared. I told people to open their businesses, but most have fear, they even moved their goods from the shops.”

He described the closures as “economic sabotage,” adding, “The last protest wasn’t Gen-Zs, they were goons.”

Elsewhere in the country, larger crowds marched in the coastal opposition stronghold Mombasa, with smaller rallies and heavy police presence in Kisumu, Nakuru, and Nyeri.

Peaceful rallies against tax increases, led mainly by Gen-Z Kenyans on social media, descended into chaos last week when lawmakers passed the unpopular legislation.

Crowds in response, ransacked the parliament complex in Nairobi, setting parts of it ablaze as police fired live bullets at protesters.

President Ruto, in a television interview on Sunday, stated that 19 people had died but defended his decision to call in the armed forces, insisting he did not have “blood on my hands.”

This marks the most serious crisis Ruto has faced since taking office in September 2022, following a deeply divisive election.

Ruto’s decision to scrap the tax legislation has not appeased critics and activists vowed to continue protesting, with leaflets on social media calling for more action this week.

One leaflet declared both Tuesday and Thursday public holidays for an “OccupyEverywhere” movement, urging Kenyans to stage sit-down protests on major roads.

The KNCHR reported that, in addition to the deaths and injuries, there had been 32 cases of “enforced or involuntary disappearances” and 627 arrests of protesters.

“The Commission continues to condemn in the strongest terms possible, the unwarranted violence and force that was inflicted on protesters, medical personnel, lawyers, journalists, and on safe spaces such as churches, medical emergency centres, and ambulances,” the KNCHR stated.

LEADERSHIP recalls that Kenyan Government had previously justified the tax increases as necessary to fill its coffers and service a massive public debt of about 10 trillion shillings ($78 billion), or 70 percent of GDP.

In his Sunday interview, Ruto warned that dropping the finance bill would require the government to borrow another $7.7 billion.

Despite these challenges, activists remain determined to continue their protests until their demands are met.