Comedian Eric Omondi was on Friday morning arrested outside Parliament Buildings as he rode on a horse to protest against the Finance Bill.

Omondi, dressed in red, was in the company of a few others when police pounced on him and pulled him from the horse.

In a video shared online, the comedian had just begun to voice his displeasure at the controversial bill when officers pinned him down and whisked him away.

This comes just a day after he assured anti-Finance Bill protesters that he is fully behind them and will join them soon.

Omondi, who is currently mourning his brother Fred Omondi, said he would throw his weight behind those who are against the bill once he lays his brother to rest.

“Tuko Pamoja. Go Soldiers. Wacha nimalize nikam,” he wrote.

Before his brother’s demise, Omondi had said it would not be business as usual if the Finance Bill was passed, adding that Kenyans would have endless protests.

At least 200 people were injured and more than 100 arrested across Kenya in Thursday’s nationwide protests against government plans to raise $2.7bn in additional taxes, an alliance of rights groups said.

Police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters in the capital Nairobi, the five rights groups, which include Amnesty International and the Kenya Medical Association, said in a joint statement late on Thursday.

The presence of spent cartridges implied the use of live rounds, they said. One person died from a gunshot wound sustained in the Nairobi protest, local medias reported.

The Nairobi county police commander, Adamson Bungei, did not answer his phone to respond to the reported killing, injuries and arrests.

“We commend the several thousands of protesters, many of whom are youthful, for picketing peacefully [and] exhibiting restraint and decorum despite provocation by police,” the group said.

Protesters want the government to completely abandon the finance bill, saying it will choke the economy and raise the cost of living for Kenyans who are already struggling to make ends meet.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says, however, that the government needs to increase revenues to reduce the budget deficit and state borrowing.

Earlier this week the government softened its position a little, with President William Ruto endorsing recommendations to scrap some of the new levies, including on car ownership, bread, cooking oil and financial transactions.

Despite the widespread demonstrations, which broke out in 19 of Kenya’s 47 counties, legislators passed the finance bill in its second reading on Thursday, moving the contested tax proposals to their next stage for approval.

Legislators are expected to meet on Tuesday to vote on the proposed changes to the bill, which parliament’s budget committee says would blow a 200-billion Kenyan shillings ($1.56bn) hole in the 2024/25 budget, and compel the government to make spending cuts.

The Kenyan government is set to allocate approximately 2.7 billion Kenyan shillings annually to pay village elders nationwide.

This decision comes as part of a proposal to formally recognize the contributions of village elders by providing them with a monthly stipend of 5,000 shillings.

Interior Principal Secretary Dr. Raymond Omollo, during a presentation to the National Assembly’s committee on national security and administration, explained that the monthly expenditure would amount to roughly 226 million shillings.

Omollo emphasized the importance of village elders in the community, stating, “When we look into resources required to coordinate all this, we shouldn’t have a big problem convincing the National Treasury to give us the resources.”

The committee, led by Gabriel Tongoyo, echoed the sentiment, highlighting village elders’ role in society. Homabay Town MP Peter Kaluma pointed out that financial constraints have been the main obstacle in formalizing the roles of village elders. Still, with the backing of the Interior Department, this challenge can be overcome.

However, some concerns were raised regarding the implementation of the law. Laikipia West MP Sarah Korere and Kisumu West MP Rosa Buyu stressed the need for a logical and operational streamlining of sublocations to prevent conflicts.

On the other hand, Mt Elgon MP Fred Kapondi suggested that maintaining the informal status of village elders might be more practical, given the existing reporting structures.

The National Government Coordination Amendment Bill 2023 proposes the establishment of a village council, led by a village administrator, as part of the national government’s service delivery unit.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has successfully recovered 12 parcels of land, totaling 2.5 acres and valued at Kes.110 million, which were illegally acquired from Ngarenyiro Primary School in Nyahururu, Laikipia County, by land grabbers.

EACC Spokesperson Eric Ngumbi announced the seizure on Thursday, emphasizing that these parcels, originally designated for the expansion of the Nyahururu Bus Park, were unlawfully allocated to private developers.

These developers had begun constructing a commercial building on the land and were in the process of evicting Mitumba traders who were utilizing the space.

“The Commission, through its Central Regional Office in Nyeri, launched investigations upon receipt of a complaint from Mitumba traders in Nyahururu Town on 21st February, 2022,” Ngumbi stated during a press briefing.

“The traders reported that land reserved for extension of Nyahururu Bus Park, which the traders were using, had been irregularly, wrongfully, illegally and unlawfully allocated to private developers who had commenced construction of commercial building and were evicting the traders.”

According to EACC findings, the 2.5-acre parcel was unlawfully sectioned off from Ngarenyiro Primary School around 1984.

Officials from the now-defunct County Council of Nyandarua, allegedly in collusion with the then Commissioner of Lands, Wilson Gachanja, orchestrated this scheme.

“That contrary to the promise and representation given by the Commissioner of Lands, officials of the defunct County Council of Nyandarua working in cahoots with the then Commissioner of Lands, Wilson Gachanja, caused the portion reserved for expansion of Nyahururu Bus park to be subdivided in 12 portions and letters of allotment to be issued to private individuals in respect thereof,” said Ngumbi.

“That upon sub-division (survey), the parcel yielded Nyahururu Block VI/580, 581, 582, 583, 584,586, 587, 588, 589, 590, 591 and 592. The parcels have been valued at Ksh.9.2 million each.”

Subsequently, EACC pursued legal action, filing two separate recovery suits at the Nyahururu Environment and Land Court against 13 defendants, including the initial 12 land grabbers and Wilson Gachanja, the facilitator of the fraudulent transactions.

“Based on the strong evidence gathered by the Commission showing that the properties constituted public land at the time they were allocated to the defendants, all the defendants engaged the Commission on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) out of which they surrendered the illegal ownership documents to the Commission,” Ngumbi continued.

Following the conclusion of the ADR process in November 2023, the court issued a consent judgment revoking all titles held by the private individuals and ordering them to return the land to the government permanently. It also issued an injunction preventing any further transactions involving the parcels except for their surrender back to the government.

Currently, EACC is facilitating the transfer of the land back to the Laikipia County government. Ngumbi confirmed that the Commission has already initiated the necessary procedures with the Land Registrar to update the land register accordingly.

“We have requested the Land Registrar to expunge all entries related to the defendants and issue new titles in the name of the Laikipia County Government, as directed by the court,” Ngumbi affirmed.

Furthermore, EACC disclosed that it has ten additional pending recovery suits before the Nyahururu Environment and Land Court, seeking restitution of government land and properties in Nyahururu.

Among these cases is a plot valued at Kes.200 million housing Agricultural Mechanization Services, established in 1946 to support local potato farmers through subsidized tractor and plant hire services.

Despite the presence of machinery on site, the land has been encroached upon by three private developers who have obtained fraudulent titles, the EACC said.