Kenyan police arrest over 200 protesters at anti-tax hike rally

More than 200 protesters have been arrested in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, in ongoing protests against proposed tax hikes in a finance bill that is due to be tabled in parliament.

Civil society groups said on Wednesday that demonstrations and a planned sit-down outside parliament buildings will continue despite the arrest of 210 protesters.

The right to peaceful protests is guaranteed in the Kenyan Constitution, but organisers are required to notify the police beforehand.

Police generally give a go-ahead unless there are security concerns.

But Nairobi Police Commander Adamson Bungei said that no group had been granted permission to protest in the capital on Tuesday.

Police hurled tear gas canisters at hundreds of demonstrators, forcing businesses to temporarily close because of fears over looting.

'Worse than the one of 2023'

Some major tax proposals in the bill were dropped after a Tuesday morning meeting between ruling party lawmakers and President William Ruto.

The chairperson of the finance committee, Kuria Kimani, said the proposal to introduce a 16 percent value-added tax on bread had been dropped.

Other levies that had prompted debate and have been amended include a proposed 2.5 percent motor vehicle annual tax that was to be placed on insurance.

A proposed tax on goods that degrade the environment will also be amended to apply only to imported goods to encourage local manufacturing.

Ruto last month defended the proposed taxes, saying the country must be financially self-sustaining.

“The whole principal is that you must live within your means,” he said. “I persuaded and I made a case to the people of Kenya that we must begin to enhance our revenue.”

Opposition leader Raila Odinga urged legislators to scrutinise the bill and vote to remove clauses that would burden the poor.

“It is worse than the one of 2023, an investment killer and a huge millstone around the necks of millions of poor Kenyans who must have hoped that the tears they shed over taxes last year would see the government lessen the tax burden in 2024,” he said in a statement in early June.

Legislators are due to debate the bill starting on Wednesday with a vote scheduled for Monday.