Kenyan President William Ruto has issued a stern warning to the opposition, saying that protests will no longer be allowed in the East African country.
During a speech in Naivasha, Nakuru County, on Friday, President Ruto declared that the planned opposition demonstration scheduled for next Wednesday would not be allowed to take place.
This comes a week after a series of clashes between protesters and law enforcement officers left at least 10 people dead, accorfing to reports. The protests were organized by opposition leader and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga against recent tax increases that took effect last month.
"Elections ended on 9 August last year. You cannot look for the leadership of this country using the blood of the citizens, the death of the citizens and the destruction of property," local media quoted Ruto, who was sworn in as Kenya's fifth president in September 2022, as saying.
Ruto stressed that these protests, which he called "demos," would not be allowed. He stressed that "extrajudicial" and "extra-constitutional" methods should not be used to seek power in the country.
"Listen to me carefully: you cannot use extrajudicial, extra-constitutional means to look for power in Kenya," he stated.
Odinga had previously announced plans for three more days of protests beginning next Wednesday. However, the country's constitution requires protest organizers to notify authorities of their plans, but the president does not have the power to ban demonstrations.
In June, Kenya's National Assembly passed a bill proposing new or increased taxes on essential goods such as fuel, some food items, and mobile money transfers. The bill was supported by 184 MPs, mostly from the ruling Kenya Kwanza Party ("Kenya First" in Swahili), while 88 MPs, mostly from the opposition Azimio Party, opposed the changes.
A notable provision of the Finance Bill is an increase in the Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuel from 8% to 16%. The act also requires companies and employees to contribute 1.5% of their gross salaries to a housing levy to finance the development of low-income housing. This provision received strong support from Ruto.
Subsequently, the president officially signed the Finance Bill into law, which is expected to generate over $2.1 billion to alleviate the country's significant budget crisis.
In response, the opposition called on Kenyans to protest the tax increases, resulting in the "Saba Saba" demonstrations, which took place on the seventh day of the seventh month (July 7) and resulted in at least 10 deaths.
It's noteworthy that the high court in Nairobi suspended of the implementation of the new bill after an opposition senator challenged the constitutional legality of the bill.