At least 60 per cent of Kenyans in Rift Valley region support civil disobedience showing their discontent with the Finance Act 2023, a new survey by Infotrak has revealed.
50 per cent of them feel the Finance Act needs to be challenged in court to curb the surging cost of living which has led to frequent anti-government protests spearheaded by the opposition.
Despite the high cost of living, unemployment and poor governance, one per cent of Rift Valley region feel there’s a need for dialogue expected to streamline the living standards of Kenyans.
A portion of the population totaling up to two per cent, however, did not have a firm stand on civil disobedience propelled by the Finance Act.
61 per cent of the total sample across the Coast, North Eastern, Eastern, Central, Rift Valley, Western, Nyanza and Nairobi supported civil disobedience.
49 per cent of Kenyans from the countrywide poll still feel the finance act needs to be challenged in court to ease the unrest across the country.
As part of civil disobedience, 13 per cent of the respondents advocated for sit ins to show discontent with the Act while 15 per cent supported tax boycotts.
32% of Kenyans, on the other hand, backed peaceful demonstrations and protests.
The survey was conducted between July 3 and July 8 from a sample size of 1753.
Raila Protests
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga launched peaceful demonstrations in a bid to compel the government to lower the cost of living. The opposition leader further sought to block the implementation of the Finance Act whose tax proposals he deemed as punitive.
The implementation of the Act has since been blocked by the Court of Appeal until July 28, 2023.
