President William Ruto says he will not sign the finance bill that would have seen taxes hiked across the country.
Kenya 's president says he will withdraw a finance bill that sparked deadly protests across the country.President William Ruto said he will start dialogue with various parties to find a way forward, as protesters vow to take to the streets again.
Prominent activist Hanifa Adan dismissed the move as "PR", posting on X: "The bill is withdrawn but are you going to bring everyone that died back alive??" It may see off the immediate threat of more unrest, but leaves the president still caught between the competing demands of his hard-pressed citizens and of lenders such as the International Monetary Fund, which is urging the government to cut deficits to obtain more financing.On Tuesday, police opened fire on crowds who massed around parliament and later broke into the assembly's compound, minutes after lawmakers had voted through the tax measures and sent them on to the president.
Posts on social media had urged people to occupy State House, the president's office and residence, on Thursday, and the local offices of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on Friday, though it was not immediately clear if the calls came from individuals or a broader movement. Thousands took to the streets of Nairobi and several other cities during two days of protests last week as an online movement gathered momentum.
Lawmakers had already removed some tax hikes from the final version of the finance bill on Tuesday, including ones on bread and cooking oil, but inserted others in an effort to avoid a budget gap.‘There was an attempt to brush us away’: How six Australian MPs took the cause of Julian Assange to Washington
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