{"id":82704,"date":"2024-06-27T18:00:13","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T18:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/27\/scaled-back-but-determined-protests-in-kenya-call-for-president-to-resign\/"},"modified":"2024-06-27T18:00:14","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T18:00:14","slug":"scaled-back-but-determined-protests-in-kenya-call-for-president-to-resign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/27\/scaled-back-but-determined-protests-in-kenya-call-for-president-to-resign\/","title":{"rendered":"Scaled-Back but Determined Protests in Kenya Call for President to Resign"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/06\/27\/multimedia\/27kenya-protests-1-jcqw\/27kenya-protests-1-jcqw-facebookJumbo.jpg?fit=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Scaled-Back but Determined Protests in Kenya Call for President to Resign\" title=\"Scaled-Back but Determined Protests in Kenya Call for President to Resign\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Protesters returned to the streets of Kenya on Thursday, some of them demanding the resignation of President William Ruto, despite his announcement a day earlier that he was <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/26\/world\/africa\/kenya-protests-taxes.html\" title=\"\">abandoning a tax bill<\/a> that drew large-scale demonstrations in which nearly two dozen people were killed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The crowds in Nairobi, the capital, were much smaller than those on Tuesday, when tens of thousands of protesters flooded into the city center as lawmakers debated and then passed the contentious legislation. That demonstration turned violent as people <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/25\/world\/africa\/nairobi-kenya-tax-protests.html\" title=\"\">stormed the building and set parts of it ablaze<\/a>, and rights groups say that at least 23 people were killed and over 300 others injured as the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/25\/world\/auma-obama-kenya-protests-nairobi.html\" title=\"\">police used tear gas<\/a> and bullets against them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Thursday, a heavy police and military presence was visible across the capital, with officers in cars and trucks and on horseback guarding the roads leading to Parliament, the president\u2019s official residence and several downtown streets. Much of the central business district remained closed as police officers chased and tear-gassed smaller crowds waving white roses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Honeyfarsafi\/status\/1806096618120262028\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">activists<\/a> and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RobertAlai\/status\/1806152082442924171\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">opposition political leaders<\/a> had urged demonstrators <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ahmedsalims\/status\/1806167626692849756\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">not to march<\/a> toward the president\u2019s official residence in Nairobi on Thursday for fear of more bloodshed. But others said the killings, shootings and abductions of those opposing the tax increases in recent days \u2014 which activists said were some of the bloodiest days in Kenya\u2019s recent history \u2014 would not deter them from pushing Mr. Ruto to resign.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe will be in these streets until Ruto goes,\u201d said John Kimani, 25, who was protesting in Nairobi. \u201cNo one can tell us otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Until the president\u2019s announcement on Wednesday that he would not sign the finance bill, Mr. Ruto had defended its measures as necessary for raising revenue and staving off debt default for a country whose government <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/26\/business\/kenya-tax-protests-debt.html\" title=\"\">owes billions of dollars to its creditors<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As demonstrators gathered on Tuesday for what they dubbed \u201cOccupy Parliament\u201d and some breached the legislative building, Mr. Ruto called their activities \u201ctreasonous\u201d and said he would deploy the military to support the police in quelling the protests.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That decision to send in the armed forces has been called unconstitutional, and the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LawSocietyofKe\/status\/1805953299448787119\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Law Society of Kenya is suing to end it<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe president has not respected the general will of the people,\u201d said Jimmy Magero, a protester in Kisumu, an opposition stronghold city along Lake Victoria. \u201cHe cannot rule over us by force if we say enough is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2024\/06\/25\/world\/kenya-protests\/the-protests-in-kenya-have-been-driven-by-younger-people?smid=url-share\" title=\"\">youth-led protests in Kenya<\/a> began last week, with opponents arguing that the bill would drastically escalate the cost of living. Even when Mr. Ruto\u2019s governing coalition removed some of the proposed new taxes, many activists and Parliament\u2019s opposition lawmakers rejected the bill.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The government spokesman, Isaac Mwaura, called on Kenyans to stop marching in the streets on Thursday. \u201cLet\u2019s not aid those who don\u2019t wish our country well by staging protests to destabilize us,\u201d he <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MwauraIsaac1\/status\/1806295139570028673\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cKenya is the only country that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But many were not deterred.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In Kisumu, dozens of protesters tried to reach the president\u2019s residence but were rebuffed by the police. Most shops in central Kisumu were closed as traffic ground to a halt and the police put up barricades to prevent demonstrators from gaining access to some main streets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Similar protests broke out in the port city of Mombasa, where demonstrators chanted, \u201cRuto must go.\u201d Protesters also blocked the Migori-Kisii highway in the country\u2019s west, burning tires and throwing stones at the police.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">About 50 young Kenyans had been abducted by Wednesday, according to the Law Society of Kenya, an umbrella organization for the country\u2019s lawyers. By Thursday, some of those abducted had been released by law enforcement officials, but <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FaithOdhiambo8\/status\/1806233321984217265\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">several others<\/a> have <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FaithOdhiambo8\/status\/1806063581592449150\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">gone missing<\/a>, said the Law Society president, Faith Odhiambo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The country\u2019s deputy president, Rigathi Gachagua, has blamed the spiral of violence on the National Intelligence Service. He said on Wednesday evening that the agency did not properly brief the president on the anger on the streets, and called on its director, Noordin Haji, to resign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But observers said the ongoing protests stemmed from <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/11\/29\/world\/africa\/kenya-president-ruto.html\" title=\"\">public anger that has been mounting against Mr. Ruto<\/a> since he took office in 2022.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Despite his campaigning on a platform to alleviate the challenges facing the poor, Mr. Ruto\u2019s government has increased taxes, scrapped subsidies and raised electricity costs. He has also introduced several taxes on salaries that the courts have either suspended or deemed unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After Mr. Ruto withdrew the bill on Wednesday, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.imf.org\/en\/News\/Articles\/2024\/06\/26\/pr24243-kenya-imf-statement\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">the I.M.F. said<\/a> it was \u201ccommitted to working together with Kenya to chart a course towards robust, sustainable and inclusive growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Still, protesters in Kenya found another supporter in their anger toward the I.M.F.: Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. The Congresswoman <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Ilhan\/status\/1806046153005228363\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">said on Wednesday<\/a> that the I.M.F.\u2019s recommended \u201causterity conditions have contributed to the economic hardships facing Kenyan citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">She added: \u201cThese measures often disproportionately affect the most vulnerable populations.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Odera Wycliffe contributed reporting from Kisumu, and <!-- -->Mohamed Ahmed<!-- --> from Mombasa.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/27\/world\/africa\/kenya-protests-taxes-president-ruto.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Protesters returned to the streets of Kenya on Thursday, some of them demanding the resignation of President William Ruto, despite his announcement a day earlier that he was abandoning a tax bill that drew large-scale demonstrations in which nearly two dozen people were killed. The crowds in Nairobi, the capital, were much smaller than those [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/06\/27\/multimedia\/27kenya-protests-1-jcqw\/27kenya-protests-1-jcqw-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[875,7247,19662,2627,10452,10510,73163],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82704"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82704"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82706,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82704\/revisions\/82706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}