Hundreds of antigovernment protesters have taken to the streets of Kenya demanding that embattled President William Ruto resign.
Tuesday’s demonstrations, spanning from the capital, Nairobi to the southern coastal town of Mombasa, are the latest bout of unrest since government-planned tax hikes prompted mass anger in mid-June.
Kenyan activists, unmoved by Ruto’s concession to axe the $2.7bn in planned tax hikes to ease the initial protests, are threatening a “total shutdown” of the country on Tuesday.
They are frustrated by years of stagnating wages and corruption seen as worse than ever.
The demonstrations that started peacefully last month soon spiraled into violence, with some protesters even briefly storming parliament and police opening fire.
More than 50 people were killed during the protests, according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, with police accused of using excessive force.
To help calm the earlier unrest, Ruto scrapped the planned tax increase on June 26 and dismissed almost his entire cabinet. He also announced “multi-sectoral” talks to address protesters’ grievances.
However, most leading activists have rejected Ruto’s invitation to dialogue, instead urging immediate action on issues like corruption.
