Gideon Moi condemns arrests and abduction of anti-Finance Bill protesters
Kanu chairman Gideon Moi.
What you need to know:
- Several opposition leaders have also condemned the arrests.
- Many Kenyans still feel the Finance Bill 2024 should be rejected in totality.
Kanu chairman Gideon Moi has condemned the arrest of people perceived to be leaders of the ongoing protests against the Finance Bill 2024.
Mr Moi, who has in recent times kept a low profile in politics, waded into the ongoing protests, terming the arrests as troubling and an infringement of their Constitutional rights.
"The emerging pattern where young people are being violently abducted on account of engineering the protests against the Finance Bill, 2024, is deeply troubling and warrants unequivocal condemnation," stated Mr Moi in a statement on his social media accounts.
"We are a country of the rule of law and not that of the rule of men. If anyone is suspected of having committed any crime, they must be arrested under the law and produced in a court of competent jurisdiction," he added.
He said an attempt to suppress the voices of those who bear the brunt of over-taxation, unresponsive economic policies, and lack of accountability on the part of the government through unlawful tactics, is unacceptable.
"We reject the Finance Bill 2024 and urge the government to prioritise industrialisation over taxation and stop viewing the young people with grievances as the enemies yet they are victims of harsh economic policies," added Moi.
The former Baringo Senator has joined several other leaders mainly from the opposition, who have condemned the arrests of those perceived to be leaders of the ongoing countrywide protests.
Others who have previously condemned the arrests include; Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and Narc Kenya's Martha Karua, who termed the arrests unconstitutional.
This comes in the wake of a public outcry over the numerous taxes proposed in the Finance Bill 2024, which have led to countrywide protests mainly by the youth.
Despite the government making concessions on some of the new taxes, many Kenyans still feel the proposals should be rejected in totality.
After last week's demonstrations, the youthful protesters categorised as Generation Z, are yet again set to express their undying determination in opposing the Finance Bill 2024, with a new set of demonstrations planned to run for the next one week.
A poster widely shared on social platforms revealed that the youth will be undertaking a seven-day protest, which they say is meant to show solidarity for their slain colleagues, and also push the government to heed the plight of Kenyans by rejecting the Bill, which has since sailed through the second reading in parliament.
Dubbed '7 days of rage', the demonstrations will also serve as a warning to Members of Parliament who voted in support of the Bill on Thursday last week, against the will of their respective constituents and will also coerce multi-agency bodies to probe incidents of police brutality meted out by protesters.
