Certain initial proposals, including a 16% sales tax on bread and 25% duty on cooking oil, were dropped beforehand because of public opposition.

[6] Protesters, many of whom were youth, overwhelmed the police and entered the parliament building shortly after the finance bill was passed.

[12] In an address to the nation following the attack, President William Ruto described the incident as "treasonous" and said that the demonstrations had been "hijacked by dangerous people".

[1] On 5 July, Ruto pledged to act against “rogue” police officers who fired at unarmed civilians during the protests, including in the storming of parliament.

[15] Opposition leader Raila Odinga condemned the crackdown on protestors and urged the withdrawal of the finance bill.

[8] Faith Odhiambo, the President of the Law Society of Kenya, stated that everyone involved, actively or passively, must be held accountable for their actions.

A group of Catholic bishops also urged police not to attack protesters and called on the government to listen to grievances over the "unwarranted" taxes.

[9] Amnesty International said that "the pattern of policing protests is deteriorating fast" and called on the government to respect the right to assembly.