Kenyan police have clashed with anti-tax protesters in the capital Nairobi, as demonstrations have spread across the country, including to the president’s hometown of Eldoret.
Anti-riot police, some on horseback, fired tear gas to disperse crowds of protesters on the streets of Nairobi.
There were similar protests in other towns and major cities across the country, including Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisumu and Nyeri.
There is palpable anger among many Kenyans over a controversial finance law that has introduced a number of unpopular tax proposals.
As protests began on Tuesday, public outrage forced the government to withdraw a number of controversial provisions, including a 16% tax on bread and a 2.5% annual tax on vehicles.
But protesters say this is not enough and have demanded lawmakers, who are currently discussing the bill in parliament, to reject the entire bill.
“I stopped studying because my parents could not afford my education. I’m rushing to go back and now you want to take away the little I earn and make me not even buy sanitary towels?’ Aristaricus Irolo, 26, told the BBC in the capital as he held a notepad, one of the items affected by the proposed tax increases.
Fifty-six-year-old Mumbi Muturi said she came to support her daughter and niece, both 25, who were protesting.
“We [her generation] did not come out to protest when he should have. I am not concerned about these people. They secure their future. I am here to support them,” she said.
Unlike in the past, today’s protests are led by young people, not politicians, and are mostly peaceful.
Intense calls have been made on social media using the hashtag #OccupyParliament and #RejectFinanceBill2024, urging Kenyans to remain vigilant as MPs debate the bill.
It also involves young professionals, including doctors and lawyers, offering services to the protesters.
“My younger Gen Z colleagues are here getting ready to be dispatched to help every protester in Nairobi who needs medical attention,” Mercy Korir, a doctor, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
In Ruto’s home district of Eldoret, hundreds of protesters brought the city to a standstill as they marched through the streets, some waving banners.
There were protests in a number of other cities across the country – with anger over additional taxes uniting many Kenyans beyond their ethnicity and party.
In the central town of Nyeri, demonstrators chanted: “Ruto must go! and “It is all possible without Ruto”.
“We are tired,” said other protesters in the western city of Kisii.
Since becoming president in 2022, Ruto has introduced several new and unpopular taxes, which critics say are stifling economic growth and leading to job losses.
The government has often defended the tax measures as necessary to reduce the country’s public debt of almost $80 billion (£63 billion).
On Wednesday, the president said protests were a democratic right but insisted they would not paralyze the government’s decision-making process.
Lawyers and human rights groups have condemned police for using excessive force against peaceful protesters. Earlier this week, hundreds of people were arrested.
Rights groups including Amnesty International jointly said on Thursday they had deployed monitors nationwide and warned against the use of such force.
More BBC stories about Kenya:
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.
follow us on twitter @BBCAfricaon Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at BBCAfrica
