Police in Nairobi fired tear gas on Friday at small-scale traders protesting a higher customs benchmark, a Reuters witness saw, while hundreds of shops in the centre of the city stayed closed. The Kenya Revenue Authority says the change, in force from August 20, is meant to stop importers under-declaring and undervaluing goods. The minimum reference for a consolidated 40-foot container is now 3.2 million Kenyan shillings, about $24,700, up from 2.5 million, about $19,320. Traders who pool cargo in shared boxes say that will raise their landed costs and squeeze businesses already working on thin margins.
“We are standing for our citizenship and our right to do business and our right to build our future,” Muturi Kariuki told Reuters after shutting his shop to join the march. Others closed for safety. Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb, with the crowd heading toward parliament, said the protest sat on a wider anger about living costs and a feeling that Kenyans are being asked to give more and get less. KRA’s line is that 3.2 million shillings is a reference point, not a bill for every container, and that anyone whose goods are worth more must declare the real figure and pay the duty that follows.
Parts of the capital stopped. Capital FM saw officers around the Archives, Luthuli Avenue and Railways Roundabout, and shutters down on Moi Avenue, Kenyatta Avenue and Tom Mboya Street. The authority calls it a fix for cheats. The traders in the tear gas call it a tax on the ones who already declared.
Sources: Reuters; Al Jazeera.