Kenya: Angry People Attacks Parliament Protesting Govt's Policy
- By Thetripurapost Desk, Nairobi
- Jun 26, 2024
- 178
Kenyan President William Ruto came to power promising to improve the economic conditions. But the deadly violence in the capital Nairobi shows that he is slowly losing his support.
Kenya is one of the most stable democratic countries in East Africa but now protests are being seen here. Protesters entered the Parliament, after which the MPs ran away. The protesters set a part of the Parliament on fire. The police fired tear gas shells.
Apart from this, five people died in the firing. 80 thousand to 1 lakh Indians live in Kenya, whose lives are in danger. The High Commission has issued an advisory for Indians. On Tuesday, President William Ruto condemned the protests and called it treasonous. But why did Kenya suddenly burn? Let's understand.
The whole controversy is about a finance bill, which is going to increase many types of taxes. A youth-led movement had warned President William Ruto's government against passing the finance bill.
They say that this will increase the financial problems of Kenyans. But ignoring this, the MPs passed it. It is also believed that the President will sign it to give approval. However, religious leaders are calling it inappropriate.
The Finance Bill is aimed at increasing or imposing taxes or fees on many daily use goods and services including internet data, fuel, bank transfers and diapers.
Last week, in view of the protests, the 16 percent VAT on motor vehicles, vegetable oil and mobile money transfers as well as bread was abolished. But these concessions are not enough for the people amid the ever-rising inflation in Kenya.
Through the Finance Bill, the government aims to raise an additional $ 2.7 billion in domestic revenue.
The government says that these are necessary to meet the country's debt, reduce the budget deficit and keep the government running. At the same time, the protesters consider it as a punishment. They say that it has already become difficult to survive due to inflation.
People were also angry with the Finance Bill brought by Ruto in the year 2023. But then they did not do any such demonstration. This time the youth of Kenya were organizing peaceful street protests through social media, the aim of which was the complete withdrawal of the Finance Bill.
The demonstration started in Nairobi and spread to different parts of the country. The Indian High Commission issued an advisory and wrote on X, 'In view of the current tense situation, all Indians in Kenya are advised to exercise extreme caution, avoid non-essential movement and stay away from violence-affected areas until the situation clears.'