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Several people were killed and hundreds injured when thousands of demonstrators stormed Kenya’s parliament on Tuesday to protest a controversial tax bill, with police fighting back with tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition.
At least three people were shot dead after protesters stormed the parliament building and set parts of it on fire.
In an address to the nation, Kenyan President William Ruto pledged to do “whatever it takes” to prevent such incidents from happening again.
The protests forced lawmakers to flee the legislature, where they had been debating and passing the unpopular bill.
The bill proposes a sharp increase in the cost of goods and services in Kenya to help repay foreign debt – and has sparked widespread anger in the East African country.
Live footage showed protesters entering the Capitol and Senate chambers and seizing the ceremonial maces of both houses.
Protesters also attacked and burned the city hall in the capital, Nairobi.
The country’s influential Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Kenya called for calm, saying: “We implore the police not to shoot at protesters. No one should lose their life.”
Two people died during similar protests in Nairobi last week.
Human rights groups have accused Kenyan police of using heavy-handed tactics in the past and during this protest. The Kenya Human Rights Commission shared a video of police shooting at protesters and strongly condemned the police’s actions.
The cost of living in Kenya has soared over the past few years, with food and fuel prices surging.
The new bill proposes to increase taxes on various goods such as bread, cooking oil and hygiene products. After initial protests last week, some proposals were abandoned, but the revised bill was voted through on Tuesday morning. The bill now awaits the assent of President Ruto.
The protests were initially peaceful, with hundreds of young people chanting “We are peaceful, we are peaceful!” to heavily armed police deployed across the city.
The protests have been organized largely online by young people who call themselves “Generation Z,” who say the proposed law would increase the cost of living for millions of people who are already struggling.
Marches were also held in the coastal cities of Mombasa and Malindi, as well as other towns across the country, including in Rift Valley Province, which voted heavily for Ruto in the August 2022 election.
They waved placards and chanted “Ruto must go!”
The government said the fiscal bill would help it raise funds to repay its foreign debt, which now totals more than $80 billion, mainly from China, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Earlier, Kenyans woke to reports that several young people involved in the protests were arrested at dawn.
Opposition lawmakers told the parliament speaker that at least seven young men were seized by armed security agents hours before Tuesday’s march and have not been seen since.
“The speaker must advise the parliament on what we should do because my staff are among those abducted,” said Opiyo Wandayi, the minority leader in parliament.
This is despite President Ruto and Interior Minister Kiture Kindiki saying demonstrators’ right to protest is protected by the country’s constitution.
But neither the president nor the ministers condemned the killing of two protesters during last week’s largely peaceful protests. Nor did they comment on the kidnapping captured on CCTV or the use of force by police during the protests.
Tuesday’s unrest came a day after the White House formally designated Kenya as a major ally outside NATO and a month after President Ruto made a state visit to Washington. The designation brought new trade benefits to both countries.
“We condemn reports of violence during protests in Nairobi and across Kenya. We mourn the loss of life and injuries, and extend our condolences to the families who have lost loved ones,” U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Tuesday. “We urge restraint to restore order and provide space for dialogue.”
Diplomats from the United States and European countries issued a joint statement saying they were “shocked” by the unrest and concerned about the allegations of kidnapping.
The unrest broke out as hundreds of Kenyan police officers were sent to Haiti to lead a UN-backed multinational force to combat powerful gangs destabilizing the Caribbean nation.
But in Kenya, protests that began in the capital, Nairobi, against a proposed 2024 finance bill have quickly spread across the country and turned into an uprising against the president and the political class, who face charges of corruption and overtaxing Kenyans.
“We are tired of being slaves to the political class. We can’t keep funding their lifestyle without having a job,” shouted 20-year-old Brian Were.
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