A worker cleans a restaurant that was looted during a demonstration against Kenya's proposed finance bill in Nairobi, Kenya, June 26, 2024. /Reuters
Kenyan President William Ruto said on Wednesday that a bill containing tax hikes would "be withdrawn," dramatically reversing course after more than 20 people died and parliament was ransacked in violent protests.
"Having reflected on the continuing conversation around the content of the Finance Bill 2024, and listening keenly to the people of Kenya, who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this Finance Bill 2024, I concede, and therefore, I will not sign the 2024 Finance Bill, and it shall subsequently be withdrawn," Ruto said on national television.
(With input from agencies)