Protests continue in Kenya as some people are now calling for the President to step down

Protests continued in the Kenyan capital and elsewhere on Tuesday over a finance bill that could raise the cost of living, even as the president said he would not sign it in the wake of the uproar in parliament last week.

Police fired tear gas at protesters in Nairobi as many businesses remained closed due to fear of looting. The main highway to Mombasa, Kenya’s second-largest city, was closed as protesters lit bonfires.

Although there are concerns that President William Ruto could change his mind and sign the finance bill before next week’s deadline, some protesters are also calling for Ruto to resign and accusing him of poor governance Are.

But some members of the youth-led protests have expressed concerns that other Kenyans are using the unrest as an excuse to unleash violence. “Hooligans have infiltrated,” Hanifa Farsafi, an organizer, wrote on the social media platform X on Tuesday. Ruto on Sunday put the number at 19.

The president has offered talks with Kenyan youth and promised to cut the budget on travel and hospitality for his office, in line with the demands of some protesters. As unemployment remains high and prices rise, anger has grown over the luxury living of the President and other senior officials.

Members of the young but leaderless protest movement have said they do not trust the president to implement his new austerity plans.

Kenya’s main opposition party on Tuesday called on the Ruto government to take responsibility for the deaths last week.

Economist Ken Gichinga told The Associated Press that the government should take a different approach to tax reforms that would help grow the economy.

“Gen Z is most affected by unemployment,” Gichinga said.