Hours after eight people died protesting the passage of Kenyas 2024 Finance bill, President William Ruto addressed the public, talking tough and denouncing todays treasonous events.
It is the Presidents first address to the nation since protests began against a tax bill that proposed a second round of taxes in just under a year.
Despite the opposition to the bill, it passed the committee stage today and will be sent to Ruto for assent.
The vote to move the bill forward incensed an already angry crowd, leading to the breach of police lines and the parliament. Police fired live rounds at protesters, killing eight. The protests were hijacked by dangerous people, according to the president.
I hereby put on notice the planners, financiers, orchestrators and abettors of violence and anarchy, that these security infrastructures established to protect our republic and its sovereignty, will be deployed to secure the country and restore normalcy, Ruto said.
