(26 Jun 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

++AUDIO AS INCOMING++

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nairobi - 26 June 2024
++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK FRAMES++
1. Wide of Kenyan President William Ruto arriving at news conference
2. SOUNDBITE (English) William Ruto, Kenyan President:
"We have made significant progress in pulling the nation back from the brink of debt distress. Our debt situation is better managed and our budget now has space for investment and in programs aimed at easing the hardship in vulnerable people and creating opportunities for our young people."
++BLACK FRAMES++
3. SOUNDBITE (English) William Ruto, Kenyan President:
"And listening keenly to the people of Kenya, who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with the finance bill 2024, I concede and therefore, I will not sign the 2024 finance bill. And it shall subsequently be withdrawn and I have agreed with these members that becomes our collective position."
++BLACK FRAMES++
4. SOUNDBITE (English) William Ruto, Kenyan President:
"Accordingly, there is need for us as a nation to pick up from here and go into the future. And I am therefore proposing that because we have gotten rid of the finance bill 2024, it is necessary for us to have a conversation as a nation going forward. How do we manage the affairs of the country together? How do we manage our debt situation together? How do we run through the budget with the deficits that now exist together?"
++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++
STORYLINE:
Kenyan President William Ruto says he won't sign into law a finance bill proposing new taxes a day after protesters stormed parliament and several people were shot dead.

"I concede and therefore, I will not sign the 2024 finance bill. And it shall subsequently be withdrawn and I have agreed with these members that becomes our collective position," Ruto said at a news conference on Wednesday.

He added that the nation must "have a conversation going forward" on how to manage the country's financial situation together.

Kenyans faced the lingering smell of tear gas and military in the streets Wednesday, a day after protesters stormed parliament over a tax plan that would increase the cost of living — an act of defiance that Ruto called an “existential” threat.

At least 22 people were killed, a human rights group said.

The capital, Nairobi, has seen protests in the past, but activists and others warned the stakes are more dangerous after the biggest assault on Kenya's government in decades. Ruto called the events “treasonous” and vowed to quash unrest “at whatever cost.”

Soldiers patrolled alongside police, who have been accused of shooting several people dead on Tuesday.

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