Kenya: One Man Killed as Police Clash With Anti-Tax Hike Protesters

Facts

• An administrator at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching & Referral Hospital has stated that one man was shot dead on Friday during anti-government demonstrations in the western Kenyan city of Kisumu, with two people being admitted alive.¹
• This comes as police fired tear gas and clashed with protesters in the capital Nairobi, where over 20 people were arrested by midday, and in other parts of the country as they took to the streets to rally against a raft of tax hikes.²
• Footage showed vehicles trying to turn around on a tear gas-filled street within the port city of Mombasa as demonstrators fled on foot. Meanwhile, local media outlets reported that police were breaking up protesters who barricaded sections of two roads in Nairobi.³
• Opposition leader Raila Odingo's Azimio alliance called for protests over the impact of new taxes imposed on Kenyans even after the High Court in Nairobi ordered its implementation to be suspended.⁴
• Despite this ruling, President William Ruto's government implemented the new finance law, which is expected to raise an extra 200B shillings ($1.42B) a year by doubling the fuel tax and introducing a housing levy for employees. On Monday, the High Court will rule on a contempt application against the head of the energy sector regulator.³
• Defeated in a close election last August, Odinga addressed some 2K supporters outside the Nairobi business district. He accused members of parliament of having betrayed the people and argued that Ruto has failed to tackle the high cost of living.⁵

Sources: ¹Barrons, ²DW, ³Al Jazeera, ⁴Africa News, and ⁵Reuters.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by The Star. These protests represent the will of the people, as more than two-thirds of Kenyans oppose the housing tax levy, including the majority of Ruto supporters. While such polls certainly portray political partisanship, they also show that most Kenyans worry they won't receive a house even if they pay into the financial scheme.
• Narrative B, as provided by Tuko. While the opposition party failed to stabilize Kenya's economy in five years, it only took Pres. Ruto five months to begin making progress. Given that Kenya was slipping into chaos with former Pres. Odinga's policy of borrowing and overspending, they are now trying to drag the country back from this dreadful state. Ruto knows how to manage the country and will not bow to these threats.

Predictions