More than 200 injured, 100 arrested in Kenyan tax protests – rights groups

NAIROBI (Reuters) – At least 200 people were injured and more than 100 arrested across Kenya in nationwide protests on Thursday against the government's plan to raise $2.7 billion in additional taxes, a report said. declared an alliance of rights groups.

Police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters in the capital Nairobi, the five rights groups, including Amnesty International and the Kenya Medical Association, said in a joint statement late Thursday.

The presence of spent cartridges implied the use of live ammunition, they said. One person died from a gunshot wound sustained during the Nairobi protest, the Daily Nation newspaper reported.

Nairobi County Police Commander Adamson Bungei did not answer his phone to respond to the reported killings, injuries and arrests.

“We commend the thousands of protesters, many of whom are young people, for demonstrating peacefully (and) showing restraint and decorum despite police provocations,” the group said.

Protesters want the government to scrap the finance bill altogether, saying it will stifle the economy and increase the cost of living for Kenyans already struggling to make ends meet.

The International Monetary Fund, however, says the government must increase revenue to reduce the budget deficit and state borrowing.

Earlier this week, the government softened its stance slightly, with President William Ruto endorsing recommendations to remove some of the new levies, including on car ownership, bread, cooking oil and financial transactions .

Despite widespread protests that broke out in 19 of Kenya's 47 counties, lawmakers passed the finance bill on second reading on Thursday, moving the contested tax proposals to their next stage of approval.

Lawmakers are expected to meet on Tuesday to vote on proposed changes to the bill, which the parliamentary budget committee said would result in a 200 billion Kenyan shillings ($1.56 billion) hole in the 2024/25 budget and would force the government to cut spending.

(Reporting by Hereward Holland and Humphrey Malalo, editing by William Maclean)