00:00 Hundreds of protesters hurled rocks at police today in Nairobi as the opposition began three
00:08 days of demonstrations against rising living costs and tax hikes.
00:12 Protesters burned tyres in the Kibera neighbourhood, often a critical place for stand-offs with
00:17 security forces.
00:18 There have been reports of police firing tear gas canisters at protesters around Nairobi.
00:23 Police have also arrested suspected protesters in Homa Bay in the west of the country.
00:28 Schools and shops were closed in the capital and other cities as opposition leader Raila
00:32 Odinga has vowed three straight days of protests against President William Ruto.
00:38 The fresh anti-government protests in Kenya are happening despite the government warning
00:43 that it would not tolerate further unrest after earlier demonstrations had turned violent.
00:48 National security agencies have deployed all available resources to maintain law and order.
00:53 This is the third time this month the opposition has staged mass rallies against the government
00:58 accusing it as illegitimate and responsible for the cost of living prices.
01:03 Two weeks back as well, police had to fire tear gas protesters in Kenya's capital Nairobi
01:07 and other parts of the country to break up demonstrations called by the opposition against
01:12 newly imposed taxes by the government of President William Ruto.
01:17 Both rounds of protests earlier this month had descended into violence when police fired
01:21 tear gas and in some cases live rounds at the crowds.
01:24 At least 15 people were killed and hundreds were arrested.
01:28 Those protests had completely paralyzed streets in Nairobi and other major cities and had
01:32 even started to hurt the country's already fragile economy.
01:36 Same as the last times, this time as well the opposition leader Raila Odinga's Azimu
01:41 Alliance has called for the demonstrations to protest a new law that sees new or increased
01:46 taxes on fuel and food and introduced a housing levy for taxpayers.
01:51 Oppositions are struggling with a biting cost of living crisis and the cost of food and
01:55 other basic commodities have skyrocketed.
01:57 Food prices have seen an almost 16% increase in just a single year.
02:02 The country is also going through an intense cash crisis.
02:05 It does not have enough money to pay workers in its public sectors and elsewhere.
02:09 The finance bill signed into law by Ruto last month is expected to generate over $2.1 billion
02:15 for the government but it has also led to new taxes and increases on basic goods including
02:21 fuel, food and mobile money transfers.
02:23 In particular, the law provided for an increase in VAT on fuel from 8% to 16% as well as an
02:30 unpopular levy on salaries to finance a low-cost housing program.
02:35 Although the government argues that these measures will create jobs and reduce public
02:39 borrowing but the opposition groups assert that the tax hikes will only exacerbate the
02:43 hardships faced by Kenyans who are already struggling with the soaring prices of basic
02:48 commodities.
02:48 -
02:54 -
Comments