Hundreds of people marched in Nairobi on Sunday to honor those who died during recent anti-government protests.
President William Ruto maintained, “I have no blood on my hands.”
Rights groups reported at least 30 deaths in protests sparked by the government’s plan to significantly raise taxes in Kenya.
In response to the unrest, Ruto announced earlier this week that he would heed public opinion and refrain from signing the finance bill into law.
In a televised interview, Ruto provided the first official figures, stating the death toll was 19, and vowed to conduct a thorough investigation into the fatalities.
The initially peaceful protests turned violent last Tuesday after lawmakers, under pressure from the International Monetary Fund, approved the controversial tax hikes. Police fired on protesters who stormed the parliament complex, resulting in a fire.
“I have no blood on my hands,” said Ruto during the interview with Kenyan TV.
Referring to the deaths, he said: “It is very unfortunate. As a democracy that should not be part of our conversation…”
“There will be an investigation on how these 19 Kenyans died,” he added. “There will be an explanation for each and every one of them.
“The police have done the best they could,” said Ruto.
READ ALSO: Kenyan Court Stops Police from Killing Anti-Tax Hike Protesters
“If there have been any excesses, we have mechanisms to make sure that those excesses are dealt with.”
And he added: “Any killer cop who went beyond what is provided for in the law will have action taken against them.”
– ‘We will catch’ criminals –
But he cautioned that those who had attacked parliament would also be held accountable.
“Criminals infiltrated and caused mayhem,” he said. “Those who attacked Parliament and the judiciary are on CCTV.”
“Many of them are on the run but we will catch them,” he added.
Going back over his decision to scrap the finance bill at the last moment, Ruto said: “It means that we have gone back almost two years” and meant the government would have to borrow heavily.
But he acknowledged: “We should have communicated better.
“If I am given a chance to explain to the people of Kenya what the finance bill was all about and what it would have done for them, then every Kenyan would agree with me.”
The clashes were unprecedented in the country’s history since gaining independence from Britain in 1963.
On Saturday, a few hundred people gathered in Uhuru Park, central Nairobi, following a media appeal.
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