Kenyan President William Ruto said on Sunday, June 30, that he had not “no blood on your hands” after the deadly day of anti-government demonstrations on June 25, which according to him left 19 dead; a lower assessment than those given by human rights organizations.
This is the first official report given for this day of mobilization marked by the storming by demonstrators of Parliament, which had just voted on a criticized 2024-2025 budget project introducing tax increases. The police then fired live ammunition into the crowd.
The next day, saying he had heard the anger, the president announced the withdrawal of the text. This choice will have ” consequences [économiques] very heavy »Mr Ruto warned on Sunday. In a two-hour interview on Kenyan television, the president put the death toll at 19. “I have no blood on my hands”he said, promising “an investigation into how these nineteen Kenyans died”.
On Saturday, the non-governmental organization (NGO) Human Rights Watch claimed to have recorded at least thirty-one deaths in several cities across the country. The Kenya National Human Rights Commission (KNHRC) had previously reported twenty-two people killed and a group of local NGOs, including the Kenyan branch of Amnesty International, twenty-three dead. “caused by police shooting”.
Read also | At Least 30 Killed in Kenya Protests Against Finance Bill, Human Rights Watch Says
Add to your selections
“The police did their best”Mr Ruto said, reaffirming that “criminals infiltrated and wreaked havoc”. “Those who attacked Parliament and judicial institutions are on video surveillance. Many of them are on the run, but we will catch them. (…) Any police killer who went beyond what is provided for by law will be punished”he added.
On Sunday, a few hundred people – mostly young people – marched peacefully in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, in tribute to the victims of the movement. They then walked around chanting « Ruto must go » (“Ruto must go”) and « Tuesday holiday » (“Tuesday public holiday »), in reference to the next day of mobilization planned for Tuesday July 2.
“We should have communicated better”
Born in mid-June on social networks, this opposition to the draft budget has strongly mobilized young people, before drawing Kenyans of all ages in its wake. The anti-tax slogan has turned into a protest against President Ruto who, since coming to power in 2022, has created and increased several taxes and duties that have hit Kenyans’ purchasing power hard. These painful measures are necessary, according to him, to give the heavily indebted country some room for maneuver.
Withdraw the draft budget, “this means we went back almost two years and this year we are going to borrow 1 trillion shillings [7,2 milliards d’euros] to be able to run the government”he underlined, mentioning in particular negative consequences in the sectors of agriculture and education.
Read also | In Kenya, Generation Z leaves the streets but remains mobilized online
Add to your selections
“We should have communicated better” on the text, he estimated: “If I was given the opportunity to explain to the Kenyan people what the proposed budget was and what it would have brought them, then the Kenyans would agree with me. »
Mr Ruto also reiterated that steps would be taken to reduce “opulence and extravagance” in the state’s lifestyle, saying he was ready to reduce his own salary. Kenya, one of East Africa’s fastest growing economies, recorded year-on-year inflation of 5.1% in May. Its public debt amounts to around 10,000 billion shillings (72 billion euros), or around 70% of gross domestic product.
