Kenyan Police officers has fired Tear Gas, Rubber Bullets Against Demonstrators Resuming street Protests in Nairobi on Thursday after President William Ruto scrapped contentious tax hikes following deadly clashes.
Recall that the President made a surprise U-turn on the tax hikes on Wednesday after the parliament complex was ransacked on Tuesday and police opened fire on protesters.
On Thursday, dozens of protesters gathered in Nairobi’s central business district, with soldiers deployed and police in anti-riot gear blocking access along roads leading to Ruto’s office at State House and parliament, according to AFP journalists.
Officers fired rubber bullets and tear gas at small groups of protesters and arrested at least seven people, with scuffles erupting as some demonstrators threw stones at police, AFP journalists saw.
“The youth will not rest,” Lucky, a 27-year-old university graduate, told AFP.
“It’s our future we are fighting for,” he said, adding that he did not trust Ruto, who had earlier likened the demonstrators to “criminals” before backing down.
Many shops remained shuttered as traders worried about further unrest.
Protesters also rallied in the port city of Mombasa and the opposition bastion of Kisumu, with some blocking roads and lighting fires in the lakeside city.
He declined to sign the increases into law and withdrew the bill on Wednesday.
“The people have spoken,” he said, adding that he would seek “engagement with the young people of our nation”.
But protesters maintained Thursday’s rally in memory of those killed in the demonstrations, criticising Ruto’s dramatic reversal as a case of too little, too late.
Ivy, a 26-year-old job seeker, told AFP Wednesday that Ruto’s about-turn was “a start to changing things.”
“He could have done this earlier without people having to die,” she added, echoing the words of other protesters interviewe
d by AFP.
