At least 39 people have died in protests that began last month over plans to raise taxes.
Hundreds of Kenyans attended a concert in the capital Nairobi, chanting and dancing to commemorate the dozens of people killed in recent anti-government protests.
At least 39 people have been killed in demonstrations that began on June 18 as protesters pushed for the scrapping of planned tax increases and the resignation of President William Ruto.
“The government is listening now because of the protests. So we are happy, but also very sad because so many people died for the government to listen,” said activist Boniface Mwangi, who attended the concert.
“That is why we are also in mourning and we say to the families of those who lost their loved ones: 'We are with you and we will honor your sacrifice.'”
Thousands of young people flocked to Uhuru Park for a concert in memory of victims killed by police during anti-government protests image.twitter.com/Ra7w234Saf
— Citizen Television Kenya (@citizentvkenya) July 7, 2024
At the concert by local artists in Uhuru Park, a large green space in central Nairobi, young people held signs reading “RIP comrades” and “We promise to keep fighting,” while the crowd chanted “Ruto must go.” Others planted crosses in the ground.
Sunday's concert was held on Saba Saba Day, which commemorates the day in 1990 when similar protests began, demonstrations that eventually forced the government of the late leader Daniel arap Moi to return the country to multiparty politics.
Change for economic transformation?
In recent weeks-long protests in Kenya, police also fired tear gas and water cannons at demonstrators. Kenyan police have said they arrested more than 270 people they say were posing as protesters and suspected of carrying out criminal acts during anti-government demonstrations in the country.
Under mounting pressure from protesters, President Ruto has scrapped a finance bill that would have introduced a raft of new taxes that Kenyans say would have raised the already high cost of living.
On Friday, he also proposed new austerity measures, including cutting the number of his advisers and dissolving 47 state corporations to help fill a budget shortfall caused by the withdrawal of tax increases, which were supposed to raise $2.7 billion.
“I believe these changes will put our country on a path towards economic transformation,” Ruto said.
