On Tuesday, June 18, 2024, police in Nairobi arrested protesters demonstrating against the government’s Finance Bill 2024, which proposes additional taxes on citizens.
Despite the constitutional right to peacefully assemble and protest under Article 37 of the Kenyan Constitution, the police cracked down on the demonstrations, arresting several individuals.
Protesters were detained as they tried to gather at various meeting points in the city center. Plainclothes officers apprehended them and transported them to different police stations.
Among those arrested was popular activist Hanifa Farsafi, known for her participation in the demonstrations.
During the arrests, a woman was heard shouting as she was pushed into a police vehicle, “Please leave me alone, I am tired of this taxation.” Protesters chanted slogans such as “Down down finance bill” and criticized the tax hikes, with one handcuffed man yelling, “Kenyans, why am I being arrested? Do not accept this Finance Bill.”
The organizers of the “Occupy Parliament” protest claimed they had met all requirements, including notifying the police. However, Nairobi Regional Police Commander Adamson Bungei dismissed their notice, stating that no one had applied for a gathering or picketing permit.
“The notification they left at Central is dated June 17, 2023. It is faulty. We can’t allow them. No demonstration,” he said.
The protesters argue that the new taxes would further burden Kenyans who are already struggling with a high cost of living.
