Kenyan police fired rubber bullets to disperse protesters in the capital, Nairobi, amid ongoing anti-tax demonstrations across the country.
Businesses were closed and transport was paralyzed in the city, with police involved in running battles with protesters.
Youth-led protests are calling on MPs to reject proposed tax increases.
The government, which has backed off some of the most controversial measures, says new taxes are needed to finance spending programs and ease the debt burden.
An AFP journalist reportedly heard a police officer tell his colleagues to “take the rubber bullets out of the box”.
The police then began shooting into the air and at the protesters.
Agents were deployed to protect several important government installations, including parliament.
Since the morning, riot police have been using tear gas to disperse protesters amid clashes with security agents.
There were also large crowds in many other parts of the country, with Kenya’s local newspaper, the Daily Nation, reporting protests in about 30 of the country’s 47 counties.
Before the demonstrations, lawyers and human rights groups expressed concern about arbitrary arrests and intimidation of activists during previous protests.
This came amid reports that at least five prominent social media users were kidnapped in the early hours of the morning, hours before the demonstrations.
The government defended the taxes as necessary to raise additional revenue to reduce Kenya’s significant debt, but last week gave in to some demands.
It abolished some controversial taxes, including proposed taxes on bread, cooking oil and motor vehicle ownership, following public protests.
But protesters have said this is not enough and have been agitating for the bill to be withdrawn altogether.
Despite this, the majority deputies approved the controversial bill in second reading and debated the various changes on Tuesday, to remove some of the clauses that the government considered controversial.
At least two people died in protests and hundreds of others were injured in last week’s demonstrations, which were largely peaceful.
Mr Ruto acknowledged the protests and promised he would hold talks to address the concerns of young people at the forefront of the protests.
You might also be interested in:
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfricaon Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
