Kenya on boil as anti-tax protesters killed in police fire: All to know
Al JazeeraDemonstrators are angry at a new finance bill that President William Ruto says is necessary to offset heavy public debt. Kenyan police fired live ammunition at hundreds of protesters attempting to breach Parliament House in Nairobi on Tuesday, leading to several deaths and injuries, as protests against controversial tax reforms turned violent. Anti-Finance Bill protesters gain entry into Parliament Buildings, Nairobi, destroy property, burn down sections of the parliament forcing MPs to scamper for safety as police disperse demonstrators. Ruto, who campaigned on promises to make life easy for Kenya’s working class “hustlers”, has justified the recent tax-hike proposals, saying they are necessary to pay off a public debt of 11.1 trillion Kenyan shillings that the country is saddled with. The violence could damage Ruto’s image as a democratic leader in East Africa, days after he visited Washington, DC, where the US bestowed Kenya with the title of “major non-NATO ally”.