Kenyan President William Ruto announced in Nairobi on Wednesday that he would not sign a new tax law passed by parliament following days of violent protest resulting in a number of deaths.
"The people have spoken," he said on Wednesday.
"Having reflected on continuing the conversation around the Finance Bill, and listening to the Kenyan people who say they want nothing to do with this bill, I concede. Therefore, I will not sign the Finance Bill 2024 and it shall be subsequently withdrawn," Ruto told journalists.
Kenyans believe the cost of living will rise considerably if the new law goes into effect.
Ruto justified the law proposed by his Cabinet, pointing to measures that would have been financed by the additional revenue, as well as further consolidation of the national debt, subsidies for farmers and health programmes for those unable to afford health insurance.
It had become obvious that the Kenyan people expected further concessions, Ruto said.
Ruto announced a programme of cuts in expenditure to finance the government's plans, starting with expenditure on the presidential office. He appealed to parliament and the courts to follow this example.
The president expressed regret at the loss of life in the protests, referring to six deaths in Nairobi on Tuesday. There are still no official figures on the total number of dead and injured throughout the country.
Ruto said he would engage in dialogue with the young people who had demonstrated.
Ruto's concession comes ahead of further planned demonstrations outside his official residence in Nairobi and after hundreds of protesters stormed parliament on Tuesday.
In a special session on Wednesday, the parliament authorized the deployment of the military to secure critical infrastructure and to support the police during the violent protests that have gripped the country.
The East African nation's defence minister announced the deployment of the military the previous evening after hundreds of demonstrators stormed parliament and set part of the building on fire.
Opposition lawmakers raised doubts about the legality of the parliamentary resolution, which was passed within an hour and after a debate held behind closed doors.
Churches and business representatives had also spoken out against the law.
Ruto has been president of Kenya since 2022. He once positioned himself as a man of the "little people," in contrast to his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga, who both come from wealthy Kenyan political dynasties. His election promise was to revitalize the economy and create jobs.
But since then, life for Kenyans has become more expensive, mainly due to tax increases and the higher cost of living. Kenyans have nicknamed Ruto "Zakayo," after the biblical tax collector Zacchaeus. There is widespread resistance to the new tax law.
"President Ruto and his government have seriously underestimated the extent of the anger over the tax hikes and socio-economic conditions," said Africa analyst Andrew Smith.
"Ruto is in a difficult situation. He has to reduce Kenya's debt burden and is under pressure from the International Monetary Fund to increase government revenue. However, these protests show that he will find it difficult to achieve this through new taxes without provoking further demonstrations."
The German government has expressed concern about the escalation of violence during protests in Kenya.
"We expressly condemn these acts of violence and call on all those involved to exercise maximum restraint," a spokesman for the German Foreign Office said in Berlin on Wednesday.
The security forces have the right and the duty to restore public order - within the framework of the law, the spokesman said. But he said reports of the use of live ammunition and the suspected abduction of demonstrators and protesters were worrying.
