Dozens of Kenyans took to the streets Tuesday under a heavy police presence, with many shops shuttered as youth activists called for fresh protests after anti-tax hike demonstrations last month descended into deadly violence.Largely peaceful rallies against a raft of tax increases — mostly led by Gen-Z Kenyans on social media — descended into deadly chaos on Tuesday last week when lawmakers passed the deeply unpopular legislation.The state-funded KNCHR said Monday that in addition to the dead and injured in the previous protests, there had been 32 cases of “enforced or involuntary disappearances” and 627 arrests of protesters.
“The Commission continues to condemn in the strongest terms possible the unwarranted violence and force that was inflicted on protesters, medical personnel, lawyers, journalists and on safe spaces such as churches, medical emergency centres and ambulances,” the KNCHR said.
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Kenya’s cash-strapped government had said previously that the tax increases were necessary to fill its coffers and service a massive public debt of some 10 trillion shillings ($78 billion), or about 70 percent of GDP.
In Sunday’s interview, Ruto warned that the government would have to borrow another $7.7 billion because of the decision to drop the finance bill.
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