Nairobi, Kenya

Kenyan police on Thursday (June 27) fired teargas at dozens of protesters in Nairobi who took to the streets even after the president withdrew a tax hike bill.

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The demonstrators demanded President William Ruto to go further and step down in the capital, Mombasa, Kisumu and other centres.

The number of protesters was way less in attendance than the ones who staged demonstrations in the country against the tax measures. 

The police and soldiers patrolled the streets in Nairobi and blocked off the roads to the presidential palace.

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The police personnel fired teargas to disperse the crowd gathered in the centre of the city. 

This comes after Ruto on Wednesday (June 26) declined to sign the contentious Finance Bill 2024 into law, sending it back to parliament. He said that the bill would be 'withdrawn'. 

The bill, which aimed to raise taxes by $2.7 billion, sparked nationwide protests that turned violent, leading to at least 23 deaths and extensive property damage, including the storming of parliament buildings.

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"I concede and therefore I will not sign the 2024 finance bill and it shall subsequently be withdrawn," Ruto reportedly told a press briefing. "The people have spoken," he added. 

The protests against the finance bill have been described as one of the most severe challenges to the Ruto administration since it took office nearly two years ago. 

Also read: Kenya's President William Ruto slams 'criminal' demonstrators as protests turn deadly, five killed

What is the finance bill? 

The bill includes imposing a 16 per cent tax on basic goods and services such as bread, transportation of sugarcane, financial services and foreign exchange transactions.

It also includes introducing a 2.5 per cent tax on motor vehicles and increasing the excise duty on mobile money payments from 15 per cent to 20 per cent.

After some amendments to the bill, such as removing the tax on basic goods and reducing the mobile money tax increase, the Kenyan parliament ultimately passed the finance bill on June 20.

This led to further nationwide protests, with demonstrators storming the parliament building and clashing with security forces. 

(With inputs from agencies)