Kenyan Youths Hold Memorial Concert For Slain Anti-Tax Protesters

The protest against the finance bill proposing a tax hike started on June 18 and has morphed into calls for Mr Ruto’s resignation.

On Sunday, thousands of Kenyan youths gathered at Uhuru Park for a memorial concert to commemorate those who died during violent protests against the Finance Bill.

The memorial concert featured symbolic graves of slain protesters with crosses carrying their names.

Kenya National Commission on Human Rights had reported that 39 were killed, hundreds injured, and over 30 enforced disappearances were recorded while lamenting police used “excessive and disproportionate force” on protesters. More protesters were killed days after the commission reported 39 deaths.

The protest against the finance bill proposing a tax hike started on June 18 and has morphed into calls for Mr Ruto’s resignation.

On June 25, the protests took a bloody trajectory as demonstrators occupied parliament in defiance of police efforts to disperse them using tear gas, water cannons, and live ammunition. 

Images and videos showing police crackdowns and casualties circulated online, triggering global condemnation of President William Ruto. This forced him to announce withdrawal of the controversial bill on June 26. However, protests continued into July.

Mr Ruto, who initially branded the protests as treasonous, reversed his stance and on Thursday called on youths to join him in an X Space chat, days after Kenyan authorities declared some anti-finance bill protesters wanted.

Meanwhile, Sunday’s concert followed Mr Ruto’s Friday live broadcast in which he appealed to Kenyans while announcing drastic support for those injured in the protests.

During the broadcast, Mr Ruto scrapped the budget for the offices of the First and Second Lady of Kenya and cut down the number of his advisors by 50 per cent. He also dissolved 47 state agencies on grounds of duplication.

Additionally, the president suspended all non-essential travels by state and public officers, adding, “No state officer or public servant will participate in harambee.”