Police fire bullets in capital amid nationwide protests

Kenyan police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters in the capital, Nairobi, amid ongoing anti-tax demonstrations across the country.

Businesses have been shut and transport has been paralysed in the city, with the police engaging in running battles with demonstrators.

The youth-led protests are calling on MPs to reject proposed tax increases.

The government, which has rowed back on some of the most controversial measures, says new taxes are needed to fund spending programmes and lessen the debt burden.

An AFP journalist was quoted as hearing a police officer tell his colleagues to ” get the rubber bullets from the box”.

The police then reportedly started firing in the air and at the protesters.

Officers have been deployed to protect various key government installations including parliament.

From the morning the anti-riot police have been using tear gas to disperse the protesters amid clashes with the security officers.

A BBC reporter in Nairobi said the crowds, in their thousands, were much bigger than in previous protests and the police seemed to be overwhelmed.

The protesters who have been shouting “reject the finance bill”, have vowed to get to the parliament complex but so far the police have managed to push them back.

“We are coming to reject the taxes that are being imposed… We had been given promises that within two years we would see change, but what change are we seeing?” 24-year-old Derrick Mwathu told the BBC.

“There some things that are hard to understand, like how can you impose 16% tax on bread! How can you tax sanitary pads.”

He was referring to some of the controversial measures initially proposed – the government has since said it would not impose the tax on bread and only tax imported sanitary items.

There have also been huge crowds in many other parts of the country, with local Kenya newspaper the Daily Nation reporting protests in about 30 of the country’s 47 counties.

Television news channels are broadcasting split-screen live images from around the country of the crowds in different cities.

Ahead of the demonstrations, lawyers and human rights groups expressed concern about arbitrary arrests and the intimidation of activists during earlier protests.

It came amid reports of at least five prominent social media users being abducted at dawn, hours before the demonstrations.

The protests have attracted the attention of Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine and South Africa’s Julius Malema who have both expressed their support.

The government has defended the taxes as necessary for raising additional revenue to reduce Kenya’s debt, but last week conceded to some demands.

It scrapped some contentious taxes including proposed taxes on bread, cooking oil and motor vehicle ownership in the wake of a public outcry.

But the protesters have been saying that this is not enough, and have agitated for the complete withdrawal of the bill.

Despite that, majority MPs passed the controversial bill during its second reading and were on Tuesday debating on the various amendments, to remove some of the clauses that the government has considered contentious.

At least two people died in protests and hundreds others injured in last week’s demonstrations, which were largely peaceful.

Mr Ruto acknowledged the protests and promised he will hold talks to address the concerns of the youth who are at the forefront of the protests.