Red-faced Kenyan police on Tuesday arrested eight of their own officers and launched a manhunt after a man accused of murdering and dismembering 42 women escaped from a Nairobi police cell along with a dozen other people.

The Kenyan government plans to raise about $1.2 billion by reinstating some unpopular taxes contained in a finance bill that was scrapped in the face of deadly street protests, a government minister said.

Organisers of the protests have in the past accused “goons” of hijacking their plans for peaceful action and of stoking violence.

In what appeared similar to the ENDSARS protest of 2020 in Nigeria, the Kenyan government led by William Ruto, was brought to its knees by youth protesting the finance bill that included tax rises aimed at paying off the country’s massive debt. Many protesters rejected the tax rises, saying that the extra money would still be wasted.

Police fired tear gas and water cannon against dozens of demonstrators in Kenya’s capital Nairobi on Tuesday, as scattered rallies across the country called for embattled President William Ruto to step down.