Kenyan police on Friday fired tear gas and fought running battles with opposition supporters in major towns around the country protesting against a raft of tax hikes.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga called the protests to oppose tax increases imposed at a time when many are already struggling with high prices of basic commodities such as maize flour.
“We witnessed protesters being dragged on the ground,” the group of 10 watchdogs said in a statement, calling for an investigation into police conduct during the protests.The government says the tax hikes, expected to raise an extra 200 billion shillings a year, are needed to help deal with growing debt repayments and to fund job-creation initiatives in Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy.
Since the two men faced off in a close election won by Ruto last August, they have clashed over a series of issues around the high cost of living and management of future elections.“Ruto is backed into a corner by a number of circumstances; some of his making, some he inherited,” said Fergus Kell, a researcher at London international affairs think-tank Chatham House, citing past loans and a tough global economy.
At the main rally in Nairobi, protesters blew into loud horns and whistles while others danced. Many yelled “tumechoka!” – Swahili for ‘we are tired’, as well as “Ruto must go!” and “No Raila no peace.”
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