William Ruto, Kenya’s “child of the masses”, “deeply shocked by the popular movement against him”

05:18

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Kenyan police set up roadblocks on the streets leading to the presidential palace on Thursday as some protesters vowed to “occupy State House”, despite the president’s refusal to respond to proposed tax increases that sparked a week of demonstrations. It was unclear to what extent protesters would be appeased by President William Ruto’s decision on Wednesday to withdraw the Finance Bill, a day after clashes killed at least 23 people and Parliament was briefly seized stormed and set on fire. Ruto is grappling with the most serious crisis of his two years in office as the youth-led protest movement quickly grew from online condemnations of tax hikes to mass rallies demanding an overhaul policy. However, lacking a formal leadership structure, protest supporters were divided over the scope of the demonstrations. As Kenya prepares for new demonstrations, against a backdrop of socio-political and economic crisis, FRANCE 24 welcomes Dr Alex Vines, research director and director of the Africa program at Chatham House.