Minister of Interior, CS Kithure Kindiki has today announced that day secondary and primary schools in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu will remain closed ahead of the Azimio demonstrations.
Kindiki says that the decision to close schools comes as a response to information received by the ministry, indicating that the demonstrators are planning to cause violence during the protests. As a result, primary and secondary days schools will be closed on Wednesday as precautionary measures to ensure the safety of school children. The Ministry of Education will provide updates today when schools will re-open once the security situation has been assessed.
Opposition coalition party Azimio had declared its intention to hold Maandamano (demonstrations) every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of the week to protest the passing of the finance bill 2023.
The finance bill introduced new taxes which the opposition says have led to rising cost of living. They want the finance bill to be repealed and some of the newly introduced taxes like the housing levy removed.
The government has declared the Azimio demonstrations illegal and has issued warnings that they will deal with anyone found participating in the demonstrations. A confrontation is expected to be experienced today and, tomorrow between the police and the protestors in various opposition strongholds and counties in Kenya.
UPDATE: The Ministry of Education has released a statement stating that schools should re-open tomorrow (July 20, 2023).
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