Kenyan President William Ruto announced Wednesday that a bill proposing contentious tax hikes would "be withdrawn,".
Ruto declared he would not sign the finance bill, just a day after violent clashes between police and protesters at the assembly and across the nation left at least 23 people dead and numerous others wounded, according to medical sources.
"Listening keenly to the people of Kenya, who have loudly expressed their rejection of the finance bill 2024, I concede. Therefore, I will not sign the 2024 finance bill, and it shall subsequently be withdrawn," he said in a televised address.
Ruto stated he would initiate a dialogue with Kenyan youth and work on austerity measures beginning with cuts to the presidency's budget to balance the country's finances.
This decision marks a significant victory for the week-old protest movement that began with online condemnations of the tax increases and escalated into mass rallies demanding a political overhaul, representing the most severe crisis in Ruto's two-year presidency.
