Kenyan protesters pledged on Wednesday to continue their demonstrations against new tax hikes, following a deadly clash with police that left at least eight people dead and numerous others injured.
On Tuesday, police opened fire on crowds attempting to storm parliament, intensifying the week-old protest movement. In Nairobi, heavily armed officers patrolled the streets while protest supporters took to social media, using the hashtag #tutanethursday, which translates to “see you on Thursday” in a mix of Swahili and English, to organize further action.
The online discontent over the tax increases has escalated into a nationwide protest movement, calling for significant political changes and posing the most severe challenge to President William Ruto’s two-year tenure. Social media users expressed outrage at Ruto’s response to the protests, where he labeled the parliament attack as the work of “criminals pretending to be peaceful protesters.”
One user posted on X “Good morning fellow CRIMINALS Tupatane Thursday To do what CRIMINALS do,” .
According to a police officer, Nairobi’s main public mortuary received six bodies from Tuesday’s protests, while the Kenyatta National Hospital reported receiving two bodies and treating 160 people for injuries. In a televised address on Tuesday evening, President Ruto claimed that the debate over the tax measures—passed just before the parliament breach—had been “hijacked by dangerous people.” The government has ordered the army to assist the police in addressing the “security emergency,” though no troops were seen on Nairobi’s streets on Wednesday.
The protest organizers had earlier circulated a plan to occupy parliament on Tuesday and State House, the president’s office and residence, on Thursday. Protester Wellington Ogolla stated his intention to continue demonstrating, saying, “It’s our right to demonstrate … We are just expressing ourselves,” while walking through downtown Nairobi, still tinged with the smell of tear gas.
Although lawmakers removed some tax hikes on items like bread and cooking oil from the final version of the finance bill, other taxes were included to prevent a budget deficit. Protesters demand the complete scrapping of the bill, with many now calling for Ruto’s resignation.
Ruto, who won the election nearly two years ago on a platform supporting Kenya’s working poor, faces the conflicting pressures of satisfying international lenders like the International Monetary Fund—which urges deficit reduction for further funding—and addressing the struggles of a financially strained population.
The protest movement, largely organized through social media and lacking formal leadership, drew thousands of supporters in multiple towns and cities on Tuesday
