Kenya's 'child of the masses' William Ruto 'deeply shocked by the popular movement against him'

Kenyan police put up roadblocks on streets leading to the presidential palace on Thursday as some protesters vowed to "occupy State House", despite the president's climbdown on proposed tax hikes that sparked a week of demonstrations. It was not clear how far protesters would be mollified by President William Ruto's Wednesday decision to withdraw the finance bill, a day after clashes killed at least 23 people and parliament was briefly stormed and set alight. Ruto is grappling with the most serious crisis of his two-year-old presidency as the youth-led protest movement has grown rapidly from online condemnations of the tax hikes into mass rallies demanding a political overhaul. Lacking a formal leadership structure, however, protest supporters were divided on how far to carry the demonstrations. As Kenya braces for fresh protests, amid socio-political and economic crises, FRANCE 24 is joined by Dr Alex Vines, Research Director and Director of the Africa Programme at Chatham House.