Kenya updates: Ruto refuses to sign tax bill after unrest

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it is monitoring the situation in Kenya while also expressing concern over the outbreak of violence.

"We are deeply concerned about the tragic events in Kenya in recent days and saddened by the loss of lives and the many injuries. Our thoughts are with all the people affected by the turmoil in the country," Julie Kozack, the IMF's Director of Communications, said in a statement.

She added that the organization was "closely monitoring" events in Kenya as the country seeks to "overcome the difficult economic challenges it faces and improve its economic prospects and the well-being of its people."

The IMF remains "committed to working collaboratively with Kenya to achieve "robust, sustainable, and inclusive growth," she said.

The global financial institution has pressured the Kenyan government to introduce fiscal reforms to cut its deficit and thus gain access to more IMF funding.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Kenyan President William Ruto over the telephone on Wednesday, welcoming his efforts to calm deadly unrest while urging restraint and calling for investigations into alleged abuses.

Blinken thanked Ruto for reducing tensions and engaging in dialogue with protestors and civil society.

The Secretary of State "underscored the importance of security forces demonstrating restraint and refraining from violence and encouraged prompt investigations into allegations of human rights abuses," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

Blinken also extended support to the people of Kenya as they "work to address their economic challenges."

Following Ruto's U-turn on new taxes, DW's correspondent Felix Maringa said the public in Kenya remains skeptical and critical. 

"The majority of protesters online have started commenting on the president's speech, and the majority of them are saying 'this is a PR stunt," Maringa said from Nairobi, nothing that social media users were also wondering why the president hasn't addressed the deaths of young protesters.

"Many are saying that it's too late. It's no longer just about the finance bill — it's about corruption, it's about management, it's about poor governance, it's about so many other things and not the finance bill," Maringa said.

The DW correspondent also noted that "a third of Kenya's budget is lost annually to corruption, and if the president can rein in the runaway corruption, then probably the government would be able to raise its own finances." 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' spokesman called for accountability following the deaths of protesters in Nairobi.

"Any time you see the lethal use of force by the police, by security forces, we would want to see a clear accountability, investigations," Stephane Dujarric told reporters in his daily briefing. 

"And we have no doubt that the Kenyan justice system will deliver on that — it's an issue of accountability that is needed," Guterres' spokesman added. 

More than 20 people died in Tuesday's unrest. Rights groups say that around 300 were wounded and around 30 suffered gunshot wounds. 

After confirming that he had refused to sign Kenya's 2024 finance bill due to pressure from the public, Ruto said that he would call for additional austerity measures to reduce expenses.

He said that the executive branch of the government will cut costs.

Ruto proposed that parliament, the judiciary and county governments also "undertake budget cuts and austerity to ensure we do live within our means respecting the very loud message that is coming from the people of Kenya."

The Kenyan government had aimed to impose additional levies to reduce the country's sovereign debt, which amounts to around 68% of its GDP.

The draft bill ordering new taxes will be returned to Kenyan lawmakers for amendments, President William Ruto said on Wednesday.

Following a day of violence which claimed over 20 lives in Nairobi, Ruto refused to sign the bill into law.

"I concede, and therefore I will not sign the 2024 finance bill," Ruto said.

Ruto said that it had become "evident" that members of the public wanted further concessions from the government.

"I run a government, but I also lead people — and the people have spoken," he said.

Yesterday, the president warned that the protests against the bill were "hijacked" by bad actors.

Kenya's state-backed rights body announced the death of 22 protesters killed during Tuesday's rallies, while the Kenya Medical Association put the death toll at 23.

Some 30 others were being treated for bullet wounds sustained during the nationwide protests, the association said.

Roseline Odede, chairwoman of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, said that 19 people had died in the capital, Nairobi, where police opened fire at demonstrators who stormed parliament. 

She vowed the commission would launch an inquiry, describing the toll as "the largest number of deaths [in] a single day protest."

Reuters news agency has been out and about on the streets of Nairobi over the last 24 hours, speaking to Kenya's largely Millennial and Generation Z protesters.

"It's the people against the government," added Ronnie Baron, a 30-year-old English literature teacher.

"It's going to unite the youth and the old like never before," said 29-year-old John Aron.

Kenya may be the economic powerhouse of East Africa, but Nairobi is under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to slash foreign debt, which currently stands at roughly 10 trillion shillings ($77.7bn), around 70 percent of GDP, and boost state revenues, hence the government's proposed tax increases.

But with a third of Kenya's 52-million population living in poverty, many people are already struggling with the increasing cost of living and are frustrated at a political system which they feel offers them few opportunities.

"Our parents failed us, they voted along tribal lines," 26-year-old Derick Kolito told Reuters, saying he was unable to find a job despite having a master's degree in accounting. "I am the son of peasants. You must have a godfather to get a job," he said. "I wish I was born in another country."

For others, government attempts to engage with protest leaders are evidence in itself that the political class has failed to understand the issues.

"Our leaders are saying they are going to sit down with the youth and talk to us," protester Mitchell Mwamodo said. "But we don't have a leader. I am not trying to have a conversation. We are not ready to back down."

"They are just trying to find out which hand to shake and which hand to cut off," said 37-year-old Mary Ngigi. "But we don't have any leaders."

Kenyan protesters have called on fellow citizens to take to the streets again on Thursday in memory of "our fallen people," according to one prominent organizer.

"You cannot kill all of us," wrote the journalist and activist Hanifa Adan on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday morning. "Tomorrow we march peacefully again."

Meanwhile, a new hashtag was trending across Kenyan social media: "#tupatanethursday," a mix of Swahili and English meaning "see you on Thursday."

In her post, Adan said "all sovereign power belong to the people of Kenya" and called on demonstrators to wear white.

Kenyans woke up on Wednesday morning with the smell of tear gas still lingering across the capital, Nairobi, after some of the most violent protests seen in decades.

The front page of the Standard newspaper spoke of "deaths" and "mayhem," while the Daily Nation described "pandemonium." It said "the foundations of the country have been shaken to the core" but called for dialogue, saying: "Let's reason together."

The Nation documented protests in at least 35 of Kenya's 47 counties, from big cities to rural areas, including President Ruto's hometown of Eldoret in his ethnic Kalenjin heartland, demonstrating the extent to which protests have cut across Kenya's geographic, social and ethnic landscape.

On Tuesday night, local broadcaster Citizen TV hosted a discussion entitled "A nation on the brink," which featured panelists calling on the government to engage with protesters.

However, after some limited back-pedaling on some proposed tax increases last week, Ruto does not appear inclined to offer further concessions.

In a briefing late on Tuesday night, he likened some demonstrators to "criminals" and warned that he would crack down on "violence and anarchy."

On Wednesday morning, a policeman guarding broken barricades told the AFP news agency that Tuesday's events were "madness" and said, "We hope it will be calm today." 

Kenyan police have said they fired over 700 blank rounds to disperse protesters in the Nairobi suburb of Githurai overnight into Wednesday morning.

Videos of gunfire piercing the night air were shared online and reported by local media.

Meanwhile, Kenyan military personnel were deployed in the capital's central business district to support police after President William Ruto vowed in an evening address to quash unrest "at whatever cost."

At least 13 people were killed during anti-government protests in Kenya on Tuesday, the Kenya Medical Association (KMA) said on Wednesday morning.

"So far, we have at least 13 people killed, but this is not the final number," KMA President Simon Kigondu told the AFP news agency, warning that the figure could yet increase.

"We have never seen such a level of violence against unarmed people," he said of the police response to protests that erupted over proposed tax hikes.

After thousands of protesters stormed and burned a section of Kenya's parliament building on Tuesday, police responded with gunfire.

Civil society groups say more than 100 people were injured. It remains unclear how many arrests were made.

An official at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi said on Wednesday that it was treating "160 people ... some of them with soft tissue injuries, some of them with bullet wounds."

mf/sms (AP, AFP, DPA, Reuters)