Kenyan President William Ruto announced on Wednesday that he will not sign the contentious finance bill of 2024, a decision prompted by deadly protests that resulted in the deaths of at least 22 people.
In a televised address, Mr Ruto said, “Having reflected on the continuing conversation regarding the content of the finance bill 2024, and listening keenly to the people of Kenya who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this Finance Bill 2024, I concede, and therefore I will not sign the 2024 finance bill.”
“The people have spoken,” Ruto said in his second broadcast in a day. “Following the passage of the bill, the country experienced widespread expression of dissatisfaction with the bill as passed, regrettably resulting in the loss of life, the destruction of property and desecration of constitutional institutions.”
Deadly Protests
East Africa’s biggest economy has been rocked by protests against the bill, primarily led by young people.
Despite the government’s attempt to appease the public by scrapping some tax increases, such as the proposed 16% value-added tax on bread and levies on motor vehicles, vegetable oil, and mobile money transfers, the concessions failed to quell the unrest amid the rising cost of living.
On Tuesday, the protests turned deadly when security forces used live ammunition on demonstrators. Demonstrators breached the national parliament building, a section of which was torched.
The government-run Kenya National Commission on Human Rights said at least 22 people were killed in Tuesday’s protests.
Expressing his condolences, Ruto said, “I send my condolences to the families of those who lost their loved ones in this very unfortunate manner.”
He called for national unity saying, “There is a need for us as a nation to pick up from here and go into the future.”
Mr Ruto pledged to dialogue with the young people in Kenya to hear their ideas and proposals.
Mr Ruto’s speech struck a more conciliatory tone than the previous one in which he warned of “violence and anarchy,” calling some demonstrators “criminals.”
“It is not in order or even conceivable that criminals pretending to be peaceful protesters can reign terror against the people, their elected representatives and the institutions established under our constitution and expect to go scot-free,” he said.
He deployed the military to help restore order.
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