Hours after eight people died protesting the passage of Kenya’s 2024 Finance bill, President William Ruto addressed the public, talking tough and denouncing “today’s treasonous events.”
It is the President’s first address to the nation since protests began against a tax bill that proposed a second round of taxes in just under a year.
Despite the opposition to the bill, it passed the committee stage today and will be sent to Ruto for assent.
The vote to move the bill forward incensed an already angry crowd, leading to the breach of police lines and the parliament. Police fired live rounds at protesters, killing eight. The protests were hijacked by “dangerous people,” according to the president.
“I hereby put on notice the planners, financiers, orchestrators and abettors of violence and anarchy, that these security infrastructures established to protect our republic and its sovereignty, will be deployed to secure the country and restore normalcy,” Ruto said.
In a speech that denounced the attacks as sponsored by elements of terror, Ruto said repeatedly that all security organs had been deployed to restore calm.
“The government will therefore uphold its constitutional mandate to secure our nation and its development and shall treat every threat to national security and the integrity of our state as an existential danger to our Republic,” he said.
It felt like a missed moment for the Ruto presidency which has largely been accused of being tone deaf. It has missed the opportunity to engage with a young population driving the protest and has turned deaf eyes to concerns over an increasing tax burden.
By doubling down on regime security instead of engaging, Ruto will further alienate Kenyans who are adamant that the Finance bill should not be passed.
“I shall continue to lead a government that is fully committed to maintaining the integrity of our state, promoting the unity of our nation, and enhancing the peace and security of all citizens and their livelihoods.”