Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei has expressed his disappointment over the arrest of anti-finance bill 2023 protestors in Nairobi.
Sing’Oei in a tweet on Tuesday, June 6 wondered why the police officers arrested Kenyans who were protesting peacefully.
“While I do not have the full context under which the arrests were made, I hold the view that no peaceful protest, particularly one focused on an ongoing national economic conversation, should be disrupted nor should any arrests be carried out,” he stated.
Sing’Oei was responding to activist Boniface Mwangi who called out the Kenya Kwanza government for using the police to disrupt peaceful demonstrations.
“Sending police to arrest peaceful protesters for exercising their right to be heard is dictatorial behavior,” he stated.
Activists on Monday held a peaceful procession from Nairobi’s Jevanjee Gardens but were disrupted by a group of plainclothes officers swooped in to arrest the people leading the demonstration.
The activists were planning to deliver their petition to Members of Parliament, but their plans were disrupted when anti-riot authorities used tear gas to break their procession.
Over ten activists were arrested and detained at the Central Police Station, where they were processed before being presented in court.
The controversial Finance Bill 2023 has received a backlash with a number of politicians and Kenyans expressing their disagreement with some of the proposals in the bill.
The bill proposes a 35 percent tax bracket for employees earning more than Ksh500,000 monthly.
It also proposes a mandatory 3 percent Housing Fund deduction that will be channeled to the Affordable Housing Programme.
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