Kenyans from different parts of the country have taken to the streets in large numbers in a bid to compel MPs to reject the Finance Bill 2024 for the third day.
Several towns witnessing the protests include Nairobi, Nyeri, Nakuru, Kakamega, Kisumu among others.
In Kisumu, a group of protestors demonstrate how they wanted President William Ruto, who is nicknamed Zakayo, to come down, so that the cost of living and the level of taxation can drop.
In a video shared online, one of them, in a stripped shirt, climbed on a tree as his colleague chanted, ” Zakayo Shuka.”
The one on the tree, playing the role of Zakayo, then comes down as the rest rejoice.
“Zakayo shuka!” Kisumu youth dramatize how they want President Ruto to drop controversial Finace Bill taxes #FinanceBill2024 pic.twitter.com/691FayBH5D
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) June 20, 2024
Meanwhile, Kisumu City Manager Abala Wanga has urged law enforcement officers to ensure security for protestors, adding that they were exercising their constitutional rights.
“We fully support the citizens’ right to peaceful assembly.
“We call upon law enforcement agencies to ensure the provision of adequate security during this event, thereby safeguarding the peaceful nature of the protest,” Wanga said in a statement.
The protests both online and offline come even as the government announced that it had dropped some of the proposals that had been deemed punitive including 16 percent VAT on bread, eco levy among others.
Kenyans are up on arms against the bill as it seeks to raise taxation on the already burdened citizens.
Currently, members of parliament are debating on the bill before voting.
