By guest contributor Nicholas Pande.
Kenya is currently experiencing ongoing political unrest following a contested national budgeting process.
The Kenyan government has proposed a public finance bill that aims both raise existing taxes and introduce new taxes on goods and services. Kenyan President William Ruto came to power 2 years ago on a platform promising to revitalise the struggling economy, where Kenyans have been hit by a cost-of-living crisis.
The public reaction to this bill therefore, was one of strong opposition, with people feeling that these measures were oppressive. The general public sentiment was for the punitive taxes be dropped from the bill and for government expenditure be rationalised in order to curb budgeted corruption and wastage by public officials.
Legislators however, ignored the public voice, leading to widespread protests in 35 of 47 Kenyan counties. These protests are calling for rejection of the bill by parliament. On the day of debating and passing of the bill, people came out in large numbers to take the protests to parliament. This led to an unprecedented breach of the legislative house on Tuesday 25 June.
This violent and unfortunate event led to the deaths of 10 young people in Nairobi and 13 others across the country. Since the 25th, a further 16 people have been killed in the clashes. The Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights, have indicated 361 injuries, 32 cases of “enforced or voluntary disappearances”, and 627 arrests.
On the day of this protest, All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi (among other churches) were open to the protesters, showing solidarity in pursuit of justice. These churches also offered their spaces for refuge as the police engaged in running battles with the protesters. The Church also acted as a centre for the provision of medical emergencies to those injured in the process.
On Wednesday 26 June, President Ruto declined to assent to the bill citing public displeasure with the bill and advisory from stakeholders. He has since sent back the bill to parliament, with recommendations for the house to delete all clauses.
However, he has also said there will be repercussions for rejecting the bill, including an increase in borrowing “to be able to run our government”. The situation in Nairobi and other parts of the country is still volatile, as protestors continue to express a lack of confidence in the current regime and calling for the president’s resignation and dissolution of parliament.
We pray for families who have lost loved ones in the protests
We pray for wise leadership and for compassionate governance that considers the needs of those most affected by the increasing costs of living
We pray for political stability in Kenya, healing of political division and for a stable and
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