Tuesday, June 25, 2024, will remain a key date in Kenya's history, declared the East African country's newspapers the following day. Kenya, renowned for its economic dynamism and relatively stable democracy, saw a largely peaceful crowd, unprecedented in its size and youthfulness, pour into its major cities to voice their opposition to the new taxes in the finance bill passed that day.

Against a backdrop of police violence, the rally in the capital Nairobi turned into a riot against the symbols of power, with thousands of demonstrators briefly breaking into Parliament. They lit fires, threw flags to the ground, stole iPads and ransacked the refreshment bar. Some of the nation's representatives had no choice but to escape through a tunnel.

Since the protests that began in mid-June, the entire Kenyan state has been facing unprecedented defiance, far beyond the 2024-2025 finance bill. In marches, placards depicted MPs as "pigs" who are among the best-paid parliamentarians in the world. The ruling party was not spared, especially President William Ruto, elected two years ago on the promise of millions of jobs and a lower cost of living.

This wealthy businessman who came from nothing has established himself as the embodiment of a "hustler," the small, resourceful people who make up the bulk of the economy. But since coming to power in 2022, he has multiplied new taxes to cope with the debt (67% of GDP). So much so that the very pious Ruto is now nicknamed "Zakayo," after Zacchaeus, a dogged tax collector in the Bible. "Ruto must go," protesters chanted.

On Wednesday, the president made a major concession to them. He withdrew the contested bill, already lightened of numerous measures (such as a 16% VAT on bread and a 2.5% tax on personal vehicles). "I concede and therefore will not sign the 2024 finance bill," said a solemn Ruto, his face grave and his voice poised, surrounded by parliamentarians. "The country witnessed widespread expression of dissatisfaction with the bill as passed, regrettably resulting in the loss of life, destruction of property and desecration of constitutional institutions," he said.

His tone contrasted with that of the previous day. On Tuesday evening, the president had delivered a speech with military overtones, referring to "grave threats to our national security" and claiming that the demonstrations were being infiltrated by "organized criminals." As head of the army, Ruto advocated firmness in the face of "violence and anarchy." "He did not mention the loss of lives, did not speak about the health workers targeted," lamented Rohin Rajani, 30, online trader. He said that the president was on the way to being "branded as a dictator."

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