NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Protests continued in Kenya’s capital and elsewhere Tuesday against a finance bill that would raise the cost of living, even though the president said he would not sign it after last week’s storming of parliament.
Police fired tear gas at protesters in Nairobi, while many businesses remained closed for fear of looting. The main road into Kenya’s second-largest city, Mombasa, was closed as protesters lit bonfires.
While there are concerns that the president Willem Ruto could change his mind and sign the finance bill before next week’s deadline, some protesters are also calling on Ruto to resign, accusing him of misgovernance.
But some members of the youth-led protests have expressed concern that other Kenyans are using the unrest as an excuse to stir up violence. “Thugs have infiltrated,” one organizer, Hanifa Farsafi, wrote on the social media platform X on Tuesday.
Last week’s protests turned deadly when police opened fire. The two-week protests have left 39 dead, according to the Kenya National Human Rights Commission. Ruto put the number at 19 on Sunday.
The president has offered to engage in dialogue with Kenya’s youth and has promised cuts to travel and hospitality for his office, in line with the demands of some protesters. As unemployment remains high and prices rise, there is outrage over the luxurious lives of the president and other senior officials.
Members of the young but leaderless protest movement have said they have no confidence the president will implement his new austerity plans.
Kenya’s main opposition party on Tuesday called on Ruto’s government to take responsibility for the deaths that occurred last week.
Economist Ken Gichinga told The Associated Press that the government needs to take a different approach to tax reform so the economy can thrive.
“Generation Z is the hardest hit by unemployment,” said Gichinga.
