Kenyan president scraps bill to raise taxes after violent protests leave 23 dead

 William Ruto says he has listened to the people of Kenya, who gathered across the country to oppose the law

 

The Kenyan president, William Ruto, has withdrawn a bill to raise taxes a day after violent protests erupted around the country following its approval by parliament.

Ruto’s surprise decision not to sign the finance bill came after violent clashes between police and protesters at the Kenyan assembly and across the country left at least 23 people dead and scores wounded, according to medics.

“Listening keenly to the people of Kenya, who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this finance bill 2024, I concede. And therefore, I will not sign the 2024 finance bill, and it shall subsequently be withdrawn,” he said in a press briefing in Nairobi.

The climbdown will be seen as a major setback for Ruto, who came to power vowing to help Kenyans cope with rising costs but has seen much of the country, led by youth, unite in opposition to his latest attempt at reforms.

In an attempt to further defuse the volatile situation, Ruto proposed a dialogue with young people, civil society, religious organisations and professional bodies on the bill.

He also directed austerity measures to reduce expenditure in his office, the executive, parliament, as well as in the judiciary and county governments “to ensure that we do live within our means, respecting the very loud message that is coming from the people of Kenya”.

The move will be considered a victory for the week-old protest movement that grew from online condemnations of tax increases into mass rallies demanding a political overhaul, in the most serious crisis of Ruto’s two-year-old presidency.