Kenyan police fire tear gas at tax protesters

When opposition-led protestors demonstrated against tax increases on Friday, including the doubling of the fuel tax, Kenyan police deployed tear gas on them.

In order to get the government to repeal recently increased taxes, thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, and other cities. They carried signs that said “Tumechoka,” which translates to “We are tired” in Swahili.

The protest’s co-organizer and coordinator of the Mathare Social Justice Center, Gacheke Gachihi, claimed that the measure had a profound effect on people.

As soon as the finance measure was passed, Gachihi claimed, “the price of gasoline and diesel increased, and the price of travel immediately skyrocketed.” “Many people were impacted, and you know even before the bill was signed the court had stopped the implementation of the financial measure.

To disperse the advancing crowds, police used tear gas. The director of Amnesty International Kenya, Irungu Houghton, criticized the detention of dozens of protesters as being arbitrary.

According to social media, the news, and our Nairobi monitoring, there have been a number of arrests of demonstrators, which is alarming, Houghton said. They were essentially nonviolent demonstrations against the Kenya Kwanza government’s recent tax changes and the rising expense of life.

In response to how the taxes were affecting Kenyans, Raila Odinga, the head of the opposition in Kenya, called for a demonstration against the government. According to Kenyan President Willaim Ruto, raising taxes is necessary to address debt payments and foster employment growth.