Kenya to reintroduce some tax proposals that sparked deadly protests

Protesters block the busy Nairobi to Mombasa highway in the Mlolongo area, Nairobi, Kenya, in July (Brian Inganga/AP)

Kenya’s new finance minister says some of the proposed taxes that led to weeks of deadly protests earlier this year will be reintroduced through a tax amendment bill, as the country struggles to find revenue to pay off debts to lenders including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and China.

The announcement by John Mbadi in a local television interview broadcast on Sunday has already drawn criticism from some Kenyans whose anger over the rising cost of living had led demonstrators to storm Parliament and pressure President William Ruto to drop a contentious finance bill and fire most of his cabinet.