In a move that shocked observers, Kenya’s President William Ruto announced on 26 June he was withdrawing his government’s highly controversial finance bill. This followed two days in which tens of thousands of mostly young protesters took to the streets in nationwide rallies against the proposals contained in the country’s 2024 budget. Kathleen Klaus, who has studied political violence in Kenya, unpacks what drove the protesters.
Yet like elsewhere, rising prices – and prospects of even higher costs – are only part of the story in Kenya. What seems to have motivated such widespread outrage and collective action relates to four key issues. The increased tax on these most intimate and essential items represents the government’s indifference toward Kenyans’ ability to live a dignified life.
Third, many Kenyans felt that the finance bill, which was passed with support of 195 out of 304 members of parliament on 25 June, completely disregarded their humanity. In their view it also showed an inability or refusal by political elites to recognise the economic precarity, grinding poverty and everyday struggle that many experience.
What long-standing and unresolved issues are behind the unrest? Several underlying and unresolved issues help explain the power and scale of the anti-tax protests. This issue is compounded by long-standing frustration with the management of public funds, and the inability of Kenyans to hold their leaders accountable.
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