Raila condemns crackdown on protesters and calls on Ruto to suspend finance bill

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has condemned the violence against Kenyans who took to the streets on Tuesday to protest against the Finance Bill 2024.

Raila says the violent and deadly crackdown on young, peaceful protesters exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression is unjustified.

“I am disturbed by the killings, arrests, detentions and surveillance that the police are committing against boys and girls who only want to listen when it comes to tax policies that are robbing them of both their present and their future,” he said.

He called on the police to exercise restraint in dealing with peaceful demonstrators.

“The police must immediately stop shooting innocent, peaceful and unarmed protesting children who are demanding guarantees from the state for a better future,”

The resentment and frustration of the protesting boys and girls is extremely great and the finance law acted as a trigger.

According to the Azimio chairman, the finance bill is neither an emergency nor a matter of life and death for the government and Kenyans.

“Kenyans will recall that when there was a stalemate in the last legislative session over demands for a reduction in tax on petroleum products from 16 percent to 8 percent, the then Jubilee government agreed to suspend this provision and revert to the old Finance Act until consensus was reached,”

“The same thing can happen today if the government suspends the current finance law and continues with last year’s finance law,” he said

To overcome the current impasse, Raila called on the government to immediately and unconditionally withdraw the finance bill and pave the way for a fresh start and dialogue.