Tax hike protests: I have no blood on my hands, says Ruto

Hundreds of people marched in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Sunday to honour those who died in anti-government demonstrations, while President William Ruto insisted, “I have no blood on my hands.”

Rights groups say at least 30 people died in protests driven by a government drive to raise taxes in the country substantially.

Following the violence, Ruto announced an about-turn earlier this week, saying he would “listen to the people” and not sign the finance bill into law.

Police opened fire on protesters who stormed the parliament complex, and a fire broke out.

Referring to the deaths, he said: “It is very unfortunate. As a democracy that should not be part of our conversation…”

“There will be an investigation on how these 19 Kenyans died,” he added. “There will be an explanation for every one of them.”

But he warned that those who had attacked parliament would also be held accountable.

“Criminals infiltrated and caused mayhem,” he said. “Those who attacked Parliament and the judiciary are on CCTV.”

Going back over his decision to scrap the Finance Bill at the last moment, Ruto said: “It means that we have gone back almost two years” and meant the government would have to borrow heavily.

But he acknowledged: “We should have communicated better.

“If I am given a chance to explain to the people of Kenya what the finance bill was all about and what it would have done for them, then every Kenyan would agree with me.”

The clashes were unprecedented in the country’s history since its independence from Britain in 1963.