Flags, whistles and vuvuzelas against rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons: the police tried to prevent the gathering of hundreds of people in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Tuesday, for the third day of an anti-government mobilization led by youth .
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Demonstrations were also held, without any police opposition, in several other cities in the country, notably in the opposition strongholds of Mombasa (east) and Kisumu (west), in Eldoret (west), a large city in the Rift Valley. , President William Ruto’s home region, Nyeri (southwest) and Nakuru (central), according to local media.
In the business center (CBD) of Nairobi, the first groups of demonstrators, mainly young people who came with Kenyan flags, whistles or vuvuzelas and chanting “We are peaceful”, were initially kept at bay by gas shots. tear gas.
The police then used rubber bullets, AFP journalists noted.
A major security system, also including water cannons and mounted police, was deployed in this district, the epicenter of previous demonstrations, notably blocking access to Parliament where the controversial budget project which sparked the protest is currently under debate.
For this third day of action, organizers called for demonstrations across the country and a general strike.
The movement called “Occupy Parliament” was launched on social networks shortly after the presentation to Parliament on June 13 of the 2024-2025 budget providing for the introduction of new taxes – including a 16% VAT on bread and an annual tax of 2.5% on private vehicles.
After a first demonstration on June 18 in Nairobi by a few hundred people, mainly young people from “Generation Z” (born after 1997), the government announced that it would abandon most of the planned taxes.
But the hashtag #RejectFinanceBill2024 (“Rejection of the 2024 draft budget”) crystallized wider discontent among the population, hit by economic difficulties for several years, and on June 20 processions marched in many cities.
Police violence
Anti-tax demands have turned into a challenge to the policies of President Ruto, who said he was ready to dialogue with young people on Sunday.
“We have passed the stage of discussions and we cannot be silenced,” one of the organizers of the movement, journalist and activist Hanifa Adan, responded to AFP on Sunday.
Largely peaceful, the first two days of mobilization were marked by the death of two people in Nairobi.
Several dozen others were injured by police, who also made hundreds of arrests.
“Despite mass arrests and injuries, the demonstrations continued to grow, highlighting the general discontent of the population,” Amnesty International Kenya said in a statement on Monday, warning of a risk of “escalation ( which) could lead to more deaths.
The NGO Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) accused the authorities of carrying out kidnappings of activists, carried out “mainly at night (…) by police officers in plain clothes and in unmarked cars”.
Kenyan police spokesperson Resila Onyango did not respond to requests from AFP about these accusations.
Total withdrawal
The draft budget must be voted on in Parliament before the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
The demonstrators are demanding the complete withdrawal of the text, denouncing the sleight of hand of the government which announced the withdrawal of certain tax measures but plans to compensate them with others, in particular a 50% increase in fuel taxes.
For the government, these taxes are necessary to restore room for maneuver to the country, which is heavily in debt.
Kenya, an East African country of around 52 million inhabitants, is an economic powerhouse in the region.
But the country recorded inflation of 5.1% year-on-year in May, with food and fuel prices rising by 6.2% and 7.8% respectively, according to the Central Bank.
