NAIROBI-A wave of deadly protests has hit Kenya as anger over tax hikes and the cost of living spilled into the streets. At least three people were reportedly killed in the latest round of demonstrations this week, with hundreds arrested, businesses attacked and schools closed.
During protests last week the UN said up to 23 people were killed in clashes between police and protesters, although the government has disputed this figure. Despite the violence, the government has been standing firm, with President WIlliam Ruto saying protests will not be allowed as he “cannot accept anarchy.” Here’s what’s behind the upheaval in Kenya. Kenyans are angry about unpopular tax hikes that the government has signed into law. Despite a court order to temporarily halt the implementation of some portions of the bill, the government went ahead and increased tax on petroleum products which has led to a rise in cost of transport and staples. Veteran political analyst Herman Manyora told CNN many Kenyans feel let down by President Ruto, who campaigned to prioritize the poor and improve their livelihoods.
However, 10 months after being sworn into office, the cost of living has continued to rise, and the raft of new tax hikes have only made living conditions worse. “He (Ruto) campaigned on a platform of moving into mainstream the poor who have been forgotten over the years. 

He called them the ‘Hustlers.’ So, there were certainly a lot of expectations from that quarter, that for once we have a leader who is going to look at our problems, but he’s been unable to attend to even the most basic,” Manyora said. “Some of the measures he has introduced, like lifting the subsidies on maize flour, the staple of this country, and a number of measures he has taken fly in the face of his promises and actually hurt the same people he had promised to remove from poverty. The people feel betrayed,” Manyora added. Nagudi, 34, says she is one of many Kenyans who “feel betrayed” by President Ruto. Nagudi supports the demonstrations but is scared to join them, she says.
“It’s risky and the protests haven’t been peaceful … We feel betrayed, and that’s why there’s a lot of protests and looting,” says Nagudi, whose shop was looted during demonstrations in the past week.
“They raided one of my shops. They broke the fridge and drank all the sodas in it … they were just throwing and destroying everything,” she added. President Ruto says they will help create jobs and increase domestic revenue.
Ruto inherited a battered economy grappling with soaring inflation, a high debt burden, unemployment and post-COVID stagnation.
Shortly after his inauguration last September, Ruto announced a halt in food subsidies introduced by his predecessor, saying he was shifting focus to food production.