Violence erupted in Kenya on Tuesday as protests against a new finance bill turned deadly. At least five protesters were killed and dozens wounded after police opened fire on demonstrators trying to storm the country’s legislature in Nairobi. Thousands of protesters, frustrated by the rising cost of living, reportedly entered the parliament building and set sections of it on fire as lawmakers inside passed legislation to raise taxes.
The protesters had demanded that legislators vote against the bill, which imposes new taxes on a country already struggling with high inflation and unemployment. The Kenya Human Rights Commission shared a video of officers shooting at protesters and vowed to hold them accountable for the violence.
The incident comes as Kenya grapples with a growing economic crisis. The country’s public debt stands at 68% of GDP, higher than the 55% recommended by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The government has turned to the IMF for financial support, but the organization has urged Kenya to meet revenue targets to access more funding.
The new finance bill aims to raise $2.7 billion in additional taxes to reduce the budget deficit and state borrowing. Protesters argue that the planned tax hikes will choke the economy and further burden Kenyans struggling to make ends meet.
The protests were not limited to Nairobi. Clashes also broke out in the coastal city of Mombasa, and demonstrations took place in Kisumu on Lake Victoria and Garissa in eastern Kenya, where police blocked the main road to Somalia’s port of Kismayu.
In Nairobi, protesters chanted “Ruto must go” and sang in Swahili: “All can be possible without Ruto.” Music played from loudspeakers, and protesters waved Kenyan flags and blew whistles in the few hours before the violence escalated.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Kenya’s police officers, long accused of abuses by human rights watchdogs, arrived in Haiti on Tuesday to lead a United Nations-backed multinational force against the powerful gangs who have the country in their grip. The deployment faces a legal challenge in Kenya, but the government of President William Ruto has proceeded with the mission, with the thanks of U.S. President Joe Biden.
