NEWS- Anti-tax protesters in the Kenyan capital Nairobi have pushed their way into the complex where parliament sits and there are reports of people being wounded as Police fired rounds of teargas and live bullets to disperse the crowds.
A human rights organisation said it has witnessed four protesters being shot, and said that one person had been been killed. This has not been confirmed and such actions are unacceptable and constitute a grave violation of human rights.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission said that thousands of protesters have been engaged in running battles with the police since morning, with the security officers firing rubber bullets and teargas to break up the crowds and there have been concurrent protests around the country.
The push by the protesters came just as Members of Parliament passed a controversial finance bill that introduced unpopular tax proposals and all through the day businesses were shut and transport has been paralysed in the City as Police engaging in running battles with demonstrators.
The youth-led protests have been calling on Members of Parliament to reject proposed tax increases, but the government, which has rowed back on some of the most controversial measures, says new taxes are needed to fund spending programmes and lessen the debt burden.
A Police officer told his colleagues to get the rubber bullets from the box and immediately they reportedly started firing in the air and at the protesters and now the Police Officers have been deployed to protect various key government installations including parliament.
A witness in Nairobi said the crowds, in their thousands, were much bigger than in previous protests and the police seemed to be overwhelmed and the protesters who had been shouting “reject the finance bill” vowed to get to the parliament complex.
Lawyers and Human Rights groups expressed concern about arbitrary arrests and the intimidation of activists during earlier protests after at least five prominent social media users being abducted at dawn, hours before the demonstrations.
The protests have attracted the attention of Ugandan opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu and South Africa’s Julius Malema who have both expressed their support.
However, the Kenyan government has defended the taxes as necessary for raising additional revenue to reduce Kenya’s debt, but last week conceded to some demands and some of the contentious taxes including proposed taxes on bread, cooking oil and motor vehicle ownership were scrapped in the wake of a public outcry, but the protesters have been saying that this is not enough, and have agitated for the complete withdrawal of the bill.
Despite that, majority Members of Parliament passed the controversial bill during its second reading and were today debating on the various amendments, to remove some of the clauses that the government has considered contentious and lat least two people died in protests and hundreds others injured in last week’s demonstrations, which were largely peaceful.
Kenyan President William Somomei Ruto acknowledged the protests and promised he will hold talks to address the concerns of the youth who are at the forefront of the protests.
Additional Reporting from BBC Africa.
