The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
July 31, 2023

Kenyan Government to Negotiate with Opposition Groups Following Nationwide Protests
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Kenya, the government of President William Ruto and the opposition
coalition agreed to establish a joint committee to "resolve [their]
differences" following deadly protests earlier this month. Opposition
leader Raila Odinga called the protests over the high cost of living and
tax hikes. On Friday, an appeals court lifted a freeze on the contested
tax law, which doubles fuel taxes and introduces a new housing levy.
Some activists have questioned the court's move.

Owalla Javan: "We are fearing that there is an executive interference in
that ruling, because prior to this we saw the executive come out boldly
condemning the courts, declaring the courts - that the courts are
against the government, the courts are being used by external forces."



.