Kenya hit by internet disruption amid anti-tax protests

The protesters, many of them youth, have relied on social media to mobilise the protests that started last week. Kenya has been hit by a major internet disruption as anti-tax protests turned violent in the capital, Nairobi, that saw demonstrators briefly storm into parliament. NetBlocks, a watchdog that monitors internet freedom, said on X, there had been a "major disruption to internet connectivity" on Tuesday afternoon. "The incident is likely to limit coverage of events on the ground where protests are held," NetBlocks said. It comes after the authorities had earlier stated there would be no internet shutdown during the protests. Thousands of protesters on Tuesday took to the streets across the East African country to oppose a new finance bill that proposes tax hikes amid frustrations over the high cost of living. Social media The protesters, many of them youth, have relied on social media to mobilise for the protests that started last week and have been sharing footages and photos of violent clashes with the police. President William Ruto had been expected to sign the finance bill into law this week. He has two weeks to act. Local broadcaster, KTN, issued a statement saying that “we have received threats from the authorities to shut us down" as coverage continued. ➤ Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel for more stories.