Kenya’s President William Ruto has said that he will withdraw a finance bill containing controversial tax hikes after deadly protests that saw the parliament building set ablaze on Tuesday.

In an address to the nation, he said it was clear that Kenyans “want nothing” to do with the bill.

“I concede,” he said, adding that he would no longer sign the bill into law.

At least 22 people were killed in Tuesday’s protests, according to the state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNHRC).

Mr. Ruto said he would now enter into dialogue with the young people, who were at the forefront of the biggest protests to hit the country since he was elected in 2022. The bill was passed by parliament on Tuesday, despite nationwide demonstrations against it, but has now been withdrawn.

Earlier, protesters broke into parliament, vandalizing the interior and setting parts of the complex on fire. The ceremonial mace, symbolizing the authority of the legislature, was stolen and President Ruto initially responded with defiance.

He ordered the military to be deployed, saying “violence and anarchy” would not be tolerated.

But he climbed down on Wednesday, following an extraordinary demonstration of people power.

“Ruto bows to Gen Z pressure, withdraws Finance Bill,” read the headline on Kenya’s Citizen TV.

In his second address to the nation in less than 24 hours, Mr. Ruto laid out a very clear rationale for why he thought the tax increases were necessary.

The proposed legislation was part of efforts to cut the country’s massive debt burden of more than $80bn (£63bn), which costs the country more than half of its annual tax revenues to service.

Mr. Ruto added that his government had made progress and was on course to “assert sovereignty” by repaying its debts. He said the provisions would have benefitted farmers, students, and teachers, but he admitted the people were not behind him.

“I also lead people,” he said, “and the people have spoken.”

It is unclear clear how his climbdown will affect plans to resume the protests, which have largely been organized via social media, on Thursday. Chatter on social media suggested that it would still go ahead.

The stated purpose of the demonstrations was to force the president not to sign the bill.  But the protesters have begun demanding that he step down, with the slogan “Ruto must go.”

Mr. Ruto rose to the presidency after defeating his main rival Raila Odinga by a narrow margin in the 2022 election. He got 50.5% of the vote, to Mr. Odinga’s 48.8%. Mr. Ruto won after portraying himself as a “hustler” who was challenging an attempt by two dynasties – the Odingas and Kenyattas – to hang on to power.

He promised a “bottom-up” approach to the economy to tackle the high unemployment rate among young people, and to improve the lives of those less well-off.

Several killed as Kenyan police open fire on anti-tax bill protesters

Several people have been killed after police fired live rounds at protesters trying to storm Kenya’s legislature, where lawmakers voted to pass a contentious finance bill that would hike taxes. Parts of Parliament building were set ablaze as protesters stormed the complex in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

Thousands of people joined the youth-led demonstration in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Tuesday to demand that lawmakers vote against the bill amid soaring tensions over a cost-of-living crisis in the country.

But legislators voted to pass the bill, and some then fled the chamber as protesters breached the complex of the Parliament of Kenya. Parts of the Parliament building were set ablaze.

Police eventually managed to drive the protesters from the building amid clouds of tear gas and the sound of gunfire. The lawmakers were evacuated through underground tunnels, local media reported.

At least five people were killed and 31 others were wounded, the Kenya Medical Association and several other NGOs said in a statement on Tuesday. It said that of the wounded, 13 had been shot with live bullets and four with rubber bullets.

“Despite the assurance by the government that the right to assembly would be protected and facilitated, today’s protests have spiraled into violence,” the groups said.

However, Kenyan President William Ruto said that the security of Kenyans remained his “utmost priority”.

Mr. Ruto called the deadly protests “treasonous”, adding that the debate over the tax increases had been “hijacked by dangerous people”. The Kenyan Police was deployed and opened fire after tear gas and water cannon failed to disperse the crowds whilst Kenya’s army was deployed to support the police in controlling the “security emergency” which resulted in the “destruction and breaching of critical infrastructure”, Defence Minister Aden Duale said in the official gazette.

Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb, reporting from outside the Parliament building in central Nairobi, said on Tuesday that he had seen “the body of a young man who was carrying a Kenyan flag” a short while ago.

“He had a bullet hole right in the centre of his forehead,” Webb said.

Source: BBC, Citizen TV, Aljazeera