Yesterday, June 26, 2024, William Ruto, President of Kenya, withdrew the Finance Bill whose passage by the country’s Parliament last Tuesday sparked widespread protests that killed at least 22 people, according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

The brewing political tension in Kenya reached new heights last week when the country’s Parliament passed the Finance Bill, a controversial measure that seeks to raise several taxes in the government’s bid to mitigate excessive borrowing.

The signed bill sparked outrage in the East African country with a population of over 50 million. What followed were protests, primarily by young Kenyans, as they sought to prevent President William Ruto from signing the bill into law.

Although Ruto, who spoke for the first time about the protests since they began, said on Tuesday that the demonstrations had been hijacked by criminals, he finally declined to consent to the bill the following day, leaving his government with the only option of cutting expenses from the Sh3.99 trillion ($33.25 billion) 2024 budget.

Having reflected on the conversation regarding the contents of the Finance Bill and having listened keenly to the people who have spoken loudly that they don’t want anything to do with this Finance Bill, 2024, I concede, and I will not sign the bill, and it will be withdrawn,’’

President Ruto

The Content of the Bill That Sparked Protests

Initially, the bill proposed introducing a 16 percent sales tax on bread and a 25 percent duty on cooking oil.

In a country where nearly 11 million people live below the poverty line of $2.15 per day, the tax on bread and cooking oil was expected to increase the cost of living.

The original bill also proposed taxing vehicle owners 2.5 percent annually of the value of their vehicle.

Although public outcry forced the government to drop these measures, other parts of the bill that were later passed by Parliament were equally met with stiff rejection from the people.

Some measures that remained in the passed bill include:

• A proposed 16 percent tax on goods and services used in the construction and equipping of specialised hospitals with a minimum bed capacity of 50. Many believe this will increase the cost of accessing healthcare in the country.
  
• An increase in the rate of import taxes from 2.5 percent to 3 percent, a year after it was reduced by 1 percent.

Will the Withdrawal of the Finance Bill Quell Protests?

Although Ruto has withdrawn the bill, Neusroom’s monitoring of the development reveals that many Kenyans appear unmoved by his assertion that the people have spoken, as they wish to continue the demonstration.

Reminiscent of the 2020 End SARS protests in Nigeria, Kenyans are planning to continue their protests despite the President’s withdrawal of the bill.

Many now claim that the protest has moved beyond the Finance Bill.

An X user, Hanifa, who claims to write for The Eastleigh Voice, said Ruto’s speech was aimed at intimidating the protesters.

“Yesterday’s speech is what is in his heart. He made that speech trying to intimidate us and he saw it won’t work, hence the PR. The bill is withdrawn, but are you going to bring everyone who died back alive??”

Amina Wako, a journalist, said that withdrawing the bill is not enough to solve Kenya’s problems.

We need comprehensive reforms to fix Kenya’s deeper issues,” she wrote on X. “I witnessed police brutality against peaceful protesters, and it’s clear that this goes beyond the Finance Bill. It’s time for genuine leadership and meaningful change, not just symbolic gestures.”

Amina Wako

Tweeting with the hashtag #RutoMustGoHomeNow, Miguna Miguna, another X user, said that surrendering will make things worse.

“For the record. #RutoMustGoHomeNow together with his entire looting and murdering regime. Surrender will make things worse. Never retreat. Never surrender! Forward march,” he wrote.

In October 2020, when thousands of Nigerians took to the streets to protest continued harassment, extortion, and extrajudicial killings perpetrated on young Nigerians by the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), the disbandment of the police unit did not deter protesters.

While SARS was disbanded on October 11, just days after the protests started, the decentralised demonstration, which is in various ways similar to Kenya’s protest, continued until October 20, when young protesters were eventually massacred at Lekki Toll in Lagos State by the country’s military.