Kenyan President William Ruto called off signing a tax bill that prompted mass demonstrations protesters said Thursday they would go ahead with a planned march on his residence. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
Protesters in Kenya plan to move ahead with a planned march on President William Ruto’s official residence Thursday despite his decision to overturn a tax bill that prompted the demonstrations that turned deadly earlier this week.
Ruto said he would pull his support for a bill Parliament passed that would have raised taxes on a wide variety of items to cut Kenya’s national debt in an effort to quell the wave of violence that engulfed Nairobi on Tuesday, which left at least 23 dead. Advertisement
“Having reflected on the continuing conversation regarding the content of the Finance Bill 2023, and listening keenly to the people of Kenya, who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this Finance Bill 2024, I concede,” Ruto said in a television address on Wednesday. “Therefore, I will not sign the 2024 finance bill.”
That has not been enough for some prominent protest organizers, who have called for a new demonstration to force Ruto to step down as president, chanting the slogan, “Ruto must go.” They urged demonstrators to march on Ruto’s official presidential residence on Thursday.
However, other prominent protesters have warned against such a demonstration, arguing they have won their main goal of getting the tax bill removed and further marches would only spur more violence. Advertisement
In response to further protests, Kenyan officials ordered police to deploy throughout Nairobi and around the State House.
Kenyan leaders, though, must still deal with the country’s massive $80 billion debt, which will cost the country half of its annual tax revenue this fiscal year. Ruto said while he believed the tax increase would have benefitted everyone from farmers to teachers, he acknowledged bill was overwhelmingly unpopular.
Protesters march against tax bill in Kenya
Demonstrator gather during a nationwide strike to protest against tax hikes related to a new tax bill in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, on June 25, 2024. Photo by Sadat Swaka/UPI | License Photo
