Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has dismissed Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s remarks about the deadly protests against the Finance Bill 2024. Gachagua had claimed that the protests could have been prevented if President William Ruto had been given intelligence about the public discontent the bill sparked.
Following President Ruto’s announcement on Wednesday that he would not sign the contentious bill due to mounting public pressure, Gachagua, in a separate televised address, blamed the National Intelligence Service (NIS) for what he termed a failure to do their job.
He called President Ruto’s last-minute decision to recall the bill ’embarrassing’ for the government and urged NIS Director-General Noordin Haji to resign.
“Ruto deserves better, he deserves a DG who knows what he is doing, who is effective and can analyse situations to keep the government informed,” Gachagua said from Mombasa.
Kuria has however branded Gachagua a liar, saying the DP is a part and parcel of the Kenya Kwanza team that was pushing for the proposed law.
“The Committee meeting that endorsed the original Finance Bill which included VAT for milk and bread was chaired by the Deputy President. What a lying, dishonourable man!” the minister wrote on X on Wednesday night.
In choosing not to assent to the proposed law, President Ruto referred it back to Parliament with his reservations, proposing the deletion of all clauses. The bill aimed to increase taxation as Ruto’s government sought to raise an additional Ksh.346.7 billion in revenue for the 2024/25 budget.
Peaceful youth-led demonstrations against the bill, however, turned deadly as police fired live bullets and tear gas canisters at protesters. According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, the death toll on Wednesday stood at 22, with over 300 others injured and 50 more arrested.
Despite Ruto’s announcement that he would not assent to the 2024 Finance Bill, a section of demonstrators on social media expressed their intention to resume protests on Thursday in solidarity with those killed by police.
