Infotrak Poll: 60% of Rift Valley Kenyans Back Protests
At least sixty percent of Kenyans in the Rift Valley region support civil disobedience to express their displeasure with the Finance Act of 2023, according to a new survey by Infotrak.
50% of them believe that the Finance Act must be challenged in court to curtail the escalating cost of living, which has led to frequent opposition-led anti-government demonstrations.
Despite the high cost of living, unemployment, and weak governance, one percent of Rift Valley residents believe dialogue is necessary to improve Kenyans’ living conditions.
Up to two percent of the population, however, did not have a definite stance on the Finance Act-inspired civil disobedience.
61% of the sample from the Coast, North Eastern, Eastern, Central, Rift Valley, Western, Nyanza, and Nairobi regions supported civil disobedience.
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According to a nationwide survey, 49% of Kenyans continue to believe that the finance act must be challenged in court to quell the unrest throughout the country.
13 percent of respondents advocated sit-ins as a form of civil disobedience to demonstrate discontent with the Act, while 15 percent supported tax boycotts.
In contrast, 32% of Kenyans supported peaceful demonstrations and protests.
The survey was conducted with a sample size of 1753 between July 3 and July 8.
Raila Protests
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga initiated peaceful demonstrations to pressure the government into reducing the cost of living. In addition, the opposition leader attempted to prevent the implementation of the Finance Act, whose tax provisions he deemed punitive.
The Court of Appeals has since blocked the implementation of the Act until July 28, 2023.
Infotrak Poll: 60% of Rift Valley Kenyans Back Protests