Youth-led protests in Kenya show strength in unity

On 25 June 2024, for the first time in my life, I joined hundreds of thousands of other Kenyans to protest President Ruto’s proposed Finance Bill – which was meant to raise or introduce taxes on daily items including bread, diapers and sugar. I had never been part of a protest before and I felt a combination of adrenaline rush and fear. The Kenyan police are known for meeting protesters with excessive force, lobbing teargas canisters and sometimes even using live bullets. However, I overcame my fear by remembering one simple thing: I was joining my fellow youth in fighting for a better Kenya and for a government that works for the people and not the rich.

Translation: "I am so hungry, I can’t even fry (as in he has nothing to eat), poor and disorganized.
I am ready to pay the price, I won’t tolerate the evils of poor leadership."

We loudly chanted this song as we took in a mixture of air and teargas that made most of us, for whom this was our first time at a protest, cough and shed tears. I met many others who felt the same way as I did.

Shared anger over broken promises

I met Nick at the protest, and he was so angry that the promises President Ruto made during his campaign were not being delivered. His cabinet, and the members of parliament aligned with his party, are arrogant and living a life of opulence.

I saw protesters who were so brave. Many young women were arguing with police officers saying that the police should join them; and that as poorly paid police officers they should be on the same side as the protesters.

Over the past two years, public anger has been growing against the government’s economic policies. The government came to office with campaign promises to make the life of the ordinary person (who our President calls “hustlers”) bearable. However, since they came into office, they have instead implemented policies that are making small businesses close and the majority of people even poorer while the ruling class lives a life of opulence.

Lavish lifestyles for the political class

For example, President Ruto has been criticised for his decision to use a private jet for his trip to the USA. Some of his cabinet members have been caught on camera wearing expensive watches worth tens of thousands of dollars.

They are living a flashy, luxurious life while most people in my country are struggling to put food on the table. Our President is so fond of telling us to live within our means, but how is allocating billions of taxpayers’ money to the Office of the First Lady, the Office of the Spouse of the Deputy President and the Office of the Spouse of the Prime Cabinet Secretary a way of living within our means?

These are some of the issues that bring rage to the masses.

The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) latest loan deal with the Kenyan government, which pushes austerity measures down the throats of Kenyans, is at the heart of the deadly protests.

As I mentioned, the bill proposed raising or introducing value-added taxes and other indirect taxes on basic items, including sanitary pads. In a country where 1 million young girls miss school every month because they don’t have access to sanitary pads, it’s absurd and cruel that the government wanted to add an extra tax on them, making them even more out of reach.

Austerity measures harm the people living in poverty

President Ruto keeps insisting that Kenya needs to optimize revenue collection so that we don’t depend on loans for development.

Last year, Kenya spent 64.3% of its tax on servicing debt. On top of this, there has been reduced investment in critical sectors, including a 10% cut in healthcare and the scrapping of Kenya’s school feeding programme that supported over 4.5 million learners (when over 2 million learners are already out of school because of lack of food).

When you look at all these proposals, they mostly affect people living in poverty. As Professor Robert Barro put it, “the IMF doesn’t put out fires, it starts them”.

Kenya, like other countries in the Global South, needs to adopt progressive economic policies to create an economy that works for everyone, and not just for the rich. However, many of the country’s woes are domestic as they are external. As such, international support is critically needed.

Here are three things that Global South countries and international institutions can do to alleviate suffering and build inclusive economies.

1. Debt renegotiation and restructuring: this will allow governments to recuperate much-needed fiscal breathing space and allow some time for economic recovery.
2. Reform of International Financial Institutions (IFIs): there should be greater representation of Global South countries in decision-making and the development of policies that will work for them. IFIs should also be reviewing and changing their default policy approaches (e.g. austerity for the IMF).
3. Tax system reforms to reduce inequality: tax collection systems should not add to the burden already being shouldered by people living in poverty. Governments need to start taxing the super-rich and taxing extreme wealth. Tax reforms should also include curbing corruption and illicit financial flows.

All these policies will not be implemented by magic; we must fight for them. I was so inspired by my first experience of protest, of how it brought us all together, and showed how we are all sharing the same anger and the same hopes.

For young people in Kenya like me, the famous Gen Z, this was a huge moment. Whatever happens now we will never forget. We have woken.