Gambiaj.com (NAIRAOBI) President William William Ruto has said that the controversial tax bill will be withdrawn. It comes after at least 22 people were killed in protests against the bill on Tuesday, according to Kenya’s Human Rights Commission. The organization has said that the death toll is likely to rise as more information becomes available. 

The immediate trigger for the raging protest that gripped Kenya’s capital city on Tuesday was the raft of proposed tax increases—additional shillings that ordinary citizens would owe their government. The underlying cause, though, is the billions of dollars their government owes its creditors.

Kenya has the fastest growing economy in Africa and is a vibrant business center. But its government is desperate to stave off default. The country’s staggering $80 billion in domestic and foreign public debt accounts for nearly three-quarters of Kenya’s entire economic output, according to a recent report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Interest payments alone are eating up 27 percent of the revenue collected.

The Kenyan president, William Ruto, had promoted the tax bill as necessary to avoid defaulting on the country’s debt, but the violent reaction to Parliament’s approval prompted Mr. Ruto to abruptly reverse course on Wednesday and reject the legislation he had asked for. “Listening keenly to the people of Kenya,” he said, “I will not sign the 2024 finance bill, and it shall subsequently be withdrawn.” He proposed a 14-day period of discussions to chart a new economic course.

The president said his government would instead widen austerity measures, including cuts in hospitality and travel expenses for his office. He has sent the bill back to Parliament for amendments.

The legislation sought to raise about $2.9 billion in taxes that the government said it needed to pay off huge foreign debt.

But the protesters said that the taxes would make life much harder, raising the cost of such things as cooking oil, sanitary pads, and diapers, as well as fuel taxes that would make transportation and production more expensive.

The protesters have, however, vowed to march across the country on Thursday to call for the resignation of the president and all members of parliament who voted for the bill this week.