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Kenyan president offers talks to protesters on tax bill
President William Ruto says he is open to dialogue on Finance Bill 2024, as protest against tax hikes continues for 6th consecutive day
Protests have erupted in parts of Kenya, with hundreds detained by police as citizens rejected planned tax hikes in the East African nation already grappling with escalating living costs.

Civil society groups said that at least 283 people have been arrested since Tuesday as protests flared over the proposed hikes.

The government faced backlash in the capital Nairobi on Tuesday over the controversial bill and was forced to amend it after dozens of demonstrators rallied outside the country’s parliament building.

Among the taxes suspended was a 16% value-added tax on bread and a 2.5% tax on motor vehicles, a statement from Kenya’s presidency said.

A proposed increase in mobile money transfer fees was also shelved along with taxes on vegetable oil. Additionally, levies on locally produced products, such as diapers and sanitary towels, have been dropped.

However, some Kenyans were not pleased with the changes and have called for the bill to be scrapped completely.

Demonstrators protest against proposed tax hikes in a finance bill that is due to be tabled in parliament in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, June 18, 2024. Civil society groups say that despite the dozens of arrests, demonstrations and a planned sit-down outside the parliament buildings will continue. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
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“We are rejecting the whole thing,” Kenyan John Wills Njoroge wrote on social media platform X. “We didn’t ask for amendments. We asked for the withdrawal of the entire bill,” he added.

Videos posted on social media Wednesday showed a group of protesters marching in the rain in Mombassa to express their displeasure over the bill.

In another location, protesters could be heard chanting: “Reject, not amend.”

Earlier on Wednesday, CNN affiliate NTV shared footage of police dispersing Mombasa protesters with teargas.

It’s not immediately known whether any arrests have been made in Mombasa, Kenya’s second-largest city.

Amnesty International’s Kenya office said it was “deeply outraged by the arbitrary arrest of peaceful protestors” in Nairobi on Tuesday.

God pls dont allow any form of protest to happen in this country cause it will be an uncontrollable disaster.

I've already explained why we can't have a major protest in Nigeria, irrespective of what our politicians do. Find link https://www.nairaland.com/8128188/lady-laments-over-silence-nigerians