Written by Giulia Paravicini and Aaron Ross
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s president said on Wednesday he would cancel a planned tax hike, under pressure from protesters who stormed parliament, started protests across the country and threatened to continue this week.
William Ruto has said he will not sign a finance bill that includes rate hikes a day after violent clashes between police and protesters at a national assembly left at least 23 people dead and dozens injured, according to doctors.
“I am listening carefully to Kenyans who have spoken out loud that they do not want anything to do with this 2024 fiscal bill, I agree. Therefore, I will not sign the 2024 fiscal bill, and it will be withdrawn after that,” he said. television address.
Ruto said he will now start a dialogue with Kenyan youth, without going into details, and work with cost-cutting measures – starting with the reduction of the budget of the presidency – to make a difference in the country’s finances.
The move will be seen as a major victory for a week-long protest movement that has grown from online criticism of tax hikes to rallies calling for political reform, in the worst crisis of Ruto’s two-year-old administration.
