Kenyans protest tax increases

Kenyan police fired tear gas on opposition leader Raila Odinga’s convoy on Friday as rights groups condemned “arbitrary arrests” during anti-government protests over a cost-of-living crisis and a raft of controversial tax hikes.

Tear gas was fired on Odinga’s motorcade after he addressed a mass rally in the capital Nairobi, AFP correspondents said.

Police took similar action to break up protests in the Indian Ocean port city of Mombasa and Kisumu, an opposition stronghold on Lake Victoria in western Kenya.

An AFP correspondent also witnessed police making several arrests in Nairobi, with security tightened for the latest round of protests called by Odinga this year against the policies of President William Ruto’s government.

At the rally, Odinga announced plans to collect 10 million signatures in a bid to remove his arch-rival from office.

The 78-year-old lost the closely fought August 2022 election to Ruto and has repeatedly denounced the poll as “stolen”.

“Kenyans elected leaders to parliament and they have betrayed them,” he said to cheers. “Ruto himself who took over power illegally has betrayed Kenyans.”

Odinga’s Azimio alliance had called for the protests over the impact of the new taxes on Kenyans already suffering economic hardship and soaring prices for basic necessities.