19- July-2023- News Agencies
Kenya closes schools before three days of tax-hike protests
Kenya’s government has closed schools in the capital and two other areas as East Africa’s economic powerhouse on Wednesday braced for three days of demonstrations against the cost of living and tax hikes.
Two rounds of protests earlier this month descended into violence when police fired tear gas canisters, and in some cases live rounds, at the crowds. At least 15 people were killed and hundreds were arrested
According to local media reports, three schoolchildren were rushed to the hospital in Kangemi on the outskirts of Nairobi after police used tear gas on their school premises while dispersing protesters.
Kenya’s opposition called for the protests in part because of tax hikes passed last month by the government of President William Ruto, who was elected last August pledging to champion the interests of the poor, but has seen the price of basic commodities balloon under his administration.
The government says the fuel and housing levies, which are expected to raise an extra 200 billion shillings ($1.4bn) a year, are needed to help deal with growing debt repayments and to fund job-creation initiatives
Last September, Ruto removed fuel subsidies, leading to a spike in the prices of basic commodities like bread and maize flour, which are directly affected by the cost of energy and transport.
Meanwhile, churches and civil rights groups have called for Ruto and veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga to resolve their differences through dialogue and call off the protests.
“It is not too late for Azmio to halt the planned protests and give talks another shot in the wider interest of the country,” National Council of NGOs Chairman Stephen Kipchumba Cheboi said in a statement on Tuesday.
The president has accused his rival of attempting to leverage discontent over the state of the economy to attain personal political goals
Kenyan demonstrators clash with police as 3-day protest begins
The three days of protests over tax hikes began with relative calm in Nairobi but pockets of unrest erupted elsewhere in the country.
About 100 protesters hurled rocks at police in the Kibera neighbourhood of Nairobi on Wednesday morning as three days of demonstrations against the cost of living and tax hikes kicked off in Kenya.
Protesters burned tyres in Kibera and were met with volleys of tear gas by police.
Kibera, a stronghold for veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga who represented the community in parliament from 1993-2003, has often been a flashpoint for standoffs with security forces.
But Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi, reporting from Nairobi, said the situation was largely calm elsewhere in the capital. Authorities had announced that schools would close on Wednesday and the city centre was largely deserted with many businesses shuttered and shops closed.
She said government forces have been deployed in “hotspot areas where protests normally occur” within the capital. “But right now, it very much seems that people are staying away,” she added. “[They] have decided to stay home and wait out the situation.”
“There’s a very huge deployment of security forces, not just in Nairobi but in different parts of the country as well. The police are using tear gas and we have also seen in previous protests that police used a very big force to deal with protesters,” Soi added
