Protesters in Kenya have launched nationwide demonstrations amidst increasing anger over the government’s plans to raise more than $2bn in new taxes.
Opposition leader in Kenya, Raila Omoro Odinga has called for three days of anti-government protests starting on Wednesday.
The latest demonstrations are against tax hikes and follow two previous sets of protests this year against the soaring cost of living in East Africa’s economic hub and alleged malpractice in last year’s presidential election, which Odinga lost.
The new taxes were to take effect on July 1, but a Nairobi court halted their implementation pending further legal proceedings. Still, a tax increase on petroleum products was imposed, increasing fuel costs.
Nairobi’s plan to increase government revenue has been met with public anger as youth and country men in Kenya protests against this Bill.
The ongoing Protest has now taken more days following thousands of protesters poured on to the streets last week, holding placards bearing slogans such as “We ain’t IMF bitches” and livestreaming the demonstrations on their phones.
The police cracked down brutally with tear gas and live bullets. According to the Kenyan Human Rights Commission. The organization also said security forces had “abducted” prominent critics of the tax proposals, seizing many from their homes under cover of darkness.
