Raila calls for tax boycott, return of protests and civil disobedience

Azimio leader Raila Odinga at Kamukunji Grounds in Nairobi on June 27, 2023. [Denish Ochieng, Standard] Opposition leader Raila Odinga on Tuesday, June 27, announced the return of mass protests and urged Kenyans to withhold taxes to starve President William Ruto's government cash. The Azimio leader also asked Kenyans to embrace civil disobedience to force the Kenya Kwanza regime to repeal the Finance Act 2023 which he described as punitive and meant to make lives difficult. Raila said President William Ruto assented to the Finance Bill 2023 despite more than 90 per cent of Kenyans opposing its implementation and wondered how he (Ruto) can have the best interests of the country more than the citizens themselves. "In the run-up to the vote of the Bill, more than 90 per cent of Kenyans rejected it. However, true to his character as a dictator, Ruto proceeded as if Kenyans had not spoken and he imposed punitive taxes on us without our consent," he said. Addressing a rally at the historic Kamukunji grounds in Nairobi, moments after arriving in the country from a trip to Poland, the Azimio leader announced the resumption of mass protests on July 7. He claimed there was a reemergence of authoritarianism where the President and his deputy were operating in total disregard of the wishes of citizens. Abandoned by leaders "Ruto is testing the limits of his power, testing if we still have energy, after stealing our victory. He thinks he will get away with anything. Let him know that this time round Kenyans are united more than any other time to fight the draconian measures being undertaken by his administration," said Raila. He said it was sad that Kenyans have been abandoned by their leaders and urged them to embrace a tax boycott by limiting consumption of fuel by carpooling, cutting down in non-essential travel, walk instead of boarding vehicles to deny the government taxes. "We the people are supreme; through civil disobedience, we will deny Ruto the taxes he thinks he can extort from us by force. Let us embrace tax boycotts," he said. This was in apparent response to the enactment of the Finance Act which among other things has increased the VAT on fuel to 16 per cent which is expected to come into effect on July 1. Raila said that the tax proposals pushed down the throats of Kenyans were meant to enrich a few individuals because if the government cared for the majority who are poor, it should have listened to them when they raised concerns about the draconian laws. The Azimio leader at the same time called on business owners to disable the Electronic Tax Register and employers to ignore statutory tax deductions so as to frustrate the government's efforts of realising the new taxes "The Kenya Kwanza regime does not deserve our obedience. We are headed back to the trenches to fight for our rights. This time we are united by the resolve to liberate the country from chains of this administration that does not care at all about the wellbeing of the 50 million citizens," he said. Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua said Ruto government has declared war on Kenya with a colonial exploitative regime instead of one that cares about the wellbeing of poor people. "Ruto and Gachagua must go because they have made life difficult for citizens. Can you imagine that at State House they are consuming tea worth Sh8 million daily according to the Controller of Budget yet the leadership is telling Kenyans they inherited empty coffers," wondered Karua. She noted that the money being used for tea at State House daily was enough to employ 17,000 youth through Kazi Mtaani initiative daily where they will each earn Sh500. DAP-K party leader Eugene Wamalwa said there will be no more bipartisan talks after the Kenya Kwanza regime imposed punitive taxation measures on Kenyans saying the focus now would be civil disobedience including refusal to pay taxes to force Ruto to resign from office. Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna said he has relinquished his role in the bipartisan talks since the only language this administration understood was demonstrations and that whenever they have debate in the House their rivals are only interested to vote so that they can push the unpopular agendas. Sifuna claimed it was an open secret that the government was not going to build houses for Kenyans and it was only interested in collecting taxes using the backdoor which they are going to resist by all means. Wamalwa said Azimio leadership shall convene Saba Saba Day 2023 to force the Kenya Kwanza regime to go home by charting the country's way forward after which they will embark on mass signature collection to remove legitimacy on the leadership that supported the Finance Bill. "We recognise efforts of members of civil societies to free Kenya from the despotic regime, we condemn the Kenya Kwanza regime for its lack of respect for the media which is common with dictatorial regimes all over the world," he said. Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi asked citizens not to allow the Kenya Kwanza regime to get away with unpopular initiatives by embracing civil disobedience. National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi said Kenyans have seen that the Kenya Kwanza administration does not mean well for them in just less than one year in office. Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua claimed Kenya Kwanza has been taking them for a ride and they will not participate in the bipartisan talks going forward.

Raila calls for tax boycott, return of protests and civil disobedience

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