KENYA: Kenya finance bill live: More protests expected despite Ruto U-turn

* Kenyan police put up roadblocks on streets leading to the presidential palace ahead of calls for protests.

* Developments come a day after President Ruto made a dramatic U-turn and withdrew contentious tax hikes.

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14m ago (07:30 GMT)

Why are young Kenyans so aggrieved? President Ruto has dramatically reversed course on the government’s controversial finance bill after deadly protests.

But why are young Kenyans so aggrieved?

From taxes on basics, to road maintenance levies, to high prices and unemployment, these are some of the main issues that led to the recent unrest.

24m ago (07:20 GMT)

Why do Kenyans feel betrayed by President Ruto?

In his presidential campaign, Ruto called himself the anti-establishment candidate and vowed to implement policies to put more money in Kenyans’ pockets.

But his supporters were dismayed when his government removed crucial fuel and maize flour subsidies. Many Kenyans saw it as a betrayal.

Ruto frequently urges Kenyans to tighten their belts. But his state visit to the US in May created controversy when he chartered a luxury private jet instead of using the presidential jet or Kenya’s national carrier.

Ruto later said the chartered jet had been paid for by friends he did not name.

33m ago (07:10 GMT)

‘Police lobbed tear gas at us’

In Mombasa, Emmanuel Giggs Tata, 20, was among the thousands who took part in the demonstrations, but never made it home, Kenya’s news outlet Nation reported.

Samson Mwasa Nzamba said his cousin was about to return home when a tear gas canister exploded near Tata. He inhaled the smoke and struggled to breath.

“Police officers lobbed tear gas canisters from both sides after having us cornered. Giggs could no longer walk and told me that he had difficulties breathing.”

According to the state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, the death toll stood at 22 on Wednesday, with 19 of those reported in the capital Nairobi.

Meanwhile, the Police Reforms Working Group said at least 30 deaths were recorded in Githurai alone, outside Nairobi, according to the report.

43m ago (07:00 GMT)

Use of deadly force undermines Kenya’s democratic foundation

US Congress member Ilhan Omar has said the use of deadly force seen during protests that took place in Kenya “undermines Kenya’s democratic foundation”.

In a post on X, Omar also said it is “imperative that the protesters remain peaceful”.

54m ago (06:50 GMT)

President Ruto is buying time

“I think he [Ruto] is just buying time,” Willis Okumu, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), told Al Jazeera about the Kenyan president’s announcement to withdraw the bill.

“I think he has been advised that this is politically damaging. Most likely Western pressure has played a role. He needed to steady the ship after messing up and he is trying to placate the young people. He is noticing he will lose the country.

“I don’t believe it is genuine; all those things, I don’t think he will implement that. He has been president for two years and he has delivered zero of what he promised.”

1h ago (06:40 GMT)

Why did Kenya’s Ruto reject tax bill he pushed?

The reversal in Ruto’s position on Wednesday has led to questions about what changed his mind, even as a cloud hangs over his credibility, two years after he came to power promising a break for corruption and misgovernance.

“I don’t believe it is genuine, I think he is just buying time,” Willis Okumu, a senior researcher with the Pan-African think-tank Institute for Security Studies (ISS), told Al Jazeera.

“I think he has been advised that this is politically damaging and most likely Western pressure has played a role. He needed to steady the ship after messing up.”

Read the story here.

1h ago (06:30 GMT)

WATCH: Will the unrest in Kenya escalate?

1h ago (06:20 GMT)

Most Kenyans support the protests

Reporting from Nairobi, Kenya

Many people here in Kenya say they’ve never seen anything like this before. What started as peaceful protests on Tuesday quickly turned violent when hundreds of protesters invaded Parliament. Police fired tear gas, water cannon and live bullets. Several people were killed and many wounded.

The mother of a protester who died after being shot in the chest said Ruto’s U-turn will not bring back her 20-year-old son. Most Kenyans are believed to support the protests against the bill.

1h ago (06:10 GMT)

IMF says ‘closely monitoring the situation’

The International Monetary Fund says it is “deeply concerned about the tragic events in Kenya” and is “closely monitoring the situation”.

“Our main goal in supporting Kenya is to help it overcome the difficult economic challenges it faces and improve its economic prospects and the well-being of its people,” it said in a statement.

It added it is committed to working with Kenya “to chart a course towards robust, sustainable, and inclusive growth”.

1h ago (06:00 GMT)

Ruto’s decision an extreme relief

Stella Agara, an analyst and tax reform campaigner, said Ruto’s decision to not sign the bill is “an extreme relief”.

“It’s a relief that he has gone back on some of the things he said in the speech [on Tuesday], because that had left the citizens more enraged,” Agara told Al Jazeera. “I’m glad he refused to sign the bill … which of course leaves a bit of room for negotiations.

“The majority of the reaction that I have seen has got do with the language he has used, he still referring to amendments when Gen Z are talking about completely dropping this finance bill,” she noted.

1h ago (05:50 GMT)

Ruto’s dramatic U-turn

On Wednesday, President Ruto made a dramatic U-turn and withdrew contentious tax hikes following deadly rallies earlier in the week.

Addressing a shocked nation, Ruto said he would not sign the bill, and “it shall subsequently be withdrawn”.

“The people have spoken,” he said, adding that he would seek “engagement with the young people of our nation”.

It was a marked shift from his tough-talking late-night address on Tuesday when he likened some of the demonstrators to “criminals”.

2h ago (05:40 GMT)

Protests to resume today

Kenyan demonstrators prepare to resume protests on Thursday despite President Ruto’s dramatic U-turn.

Prominent protesters dismissed his comments though, with one, Hanifa Adan, labelling it a “PR” move after the violence at rallies earlier in the week.

Adan said earlier that protesters would “march peacefully again as we wear white, for all our fallen people”, with some supporters planning to bring flowers in memory of the dead.

“You cannot kill all of us,” she said on X.

Another protester, Nelly, said she intended to join the march on Thursday, criticising Ruto’s approach as a case of too little, too late.

“He could have done this earlier without people having to die,” she said. “So let it be known that we are marching tomorrow for a better future Kenya.”

2h ago (05:32 GMT)

What happened yesterday?

* President Ruto said he concedes and will not sign the controversial finance bill that sparked nationwide deadly unrest.

* Al Jazeera’s reporters in Kenya, and independent analysts, said people in the country remain deeply sceptical of the government, despite the president’s decision to withdraw the bill.

* The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, a state-funded rights organisation, said at least 22 people were killed in Tuesday’s protests in Kenya. The Kenya Medical Association said at least 13 people were killed in Tuesday’s protests.

* On Thursday, a High Court in Kenya is expected to hear a challenge to a government order to deploy the army to the capital in the wake of the protests.

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