Police in Nairobi, Kenya, said on Tuesday they had arrested more than 200 people protesting against tax increases proposed in a finance bill.
Protest organizers vowed to press ahead despite the arrests, and indeed demonstrations continued in Nairobi and other cities, with police escalating their use of tear gas and water cannons on Thursday.
The controversial Finance Bill currently before Parliament aims to raise $2.7 billion for Kenya’s bankrupt and heavily indebted government and reduce a budget deficit of 5.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to 3.3 percent.
Some of the tax increases included in the bill Dropped After Tuesday’s protests, the government passed new tax reforms, including a 16 percent value-added tax (VAT) on bread and a 2.5 percent tax on car insurance. Taxes on environmentally harmful products were also changed to apply only to imported goods.
Last year’s Finance Bill imposed a 1.5 percent “home tax” on Kenyans’ gross salary income and doubled value-added tax on petroleum products from 8 percent to 16 percent.
Nairobi police said on Tuesday that while the right to peaceful protest is protected by the Kenyan constitution, permission must be obtained in advance from authorities, a step that organisers of a major anti-tax hike demonstration had failed to take.
Tuesday’s concessions did not do much to calm demonstrators, so protests resumed and police response became even more forceful on Thursday.
Several groups, including Amnesty Kenya and the Law Society of Kenya, said members observing the protests had been unlawfully detained and tear-gassed, while the Media Council of Kenya alleged that journalists had been subject to “arbitrary arrests and attacks” while covering events, despite being clearly identifiable by press jackets and badges.
Police blocked roads leading to parliament headquarters and used force in other cities where protesters were gathering, including Mombasa and Kisumu, strongholds of Kenya’s opposition party.
Some observers noted that this week’s protesters tended to be younger and more tech-savvy than the crowds that have gathered in past years to protest the rising cost of living. BBC dubbing they The “Gen Z anti-tax revolutionaries” have largely bypassed traditional political organizations, with their anger boiling over into a “rebellion” on social media.
The spontaneous nature of the Youth Tax Rebellion is said to be one of the reasons why protesters did not seek prior permission from the police, whereas previous protests had opposition political leaders carefully managing all the paperwork.
As police tried to disperse unlawful protesters, they found thousands of smartphone cameras pointed at them, and images of police abuse quickly flooded social media. Kenya has one of the highest TikTok usage rates in the world.
It is notable that the Chinese Communist Party has a history of using TikTok to influence youth movements, and President William Ruto ran for election on an anti-China platform in 2022. Independent analysts in 2022 accused TikTok of spreading “hate, incitement and other political disinformation”, including a video accusing President Ruto of stoking tribal hatred for political gain.
“We are Gen Z and we have been able to mobilize ourselves. We are using TikTok as a platform to not only get young people to join us at the protests but also to educate them on why we are protesting,” one young protester told reporters.
“I am working as a slave for the country I love. This is the first time I’ve done something like this as my parents are old and can’t work anymore,” said another.
“Police started firing tear gas and we had to run to a nearby cafe for shelter, but we felt we had to speak out because this is our future, our Kenya and we are the ones who will pay the price,” said Stella Njoki, a 22-year-old student protester. Said ABC News on Thursday.
The BBC noted that while Nairobi business owners closed their stores to express concern about vandalism and the US Embassy warned Americans about the possibility of street violence, there had been less “looting, destruction of property and stone-throwing” by anti-tax revolutionaries compared to previous protests.
Protest organizers initially told demonstrators to wear black but changed tactics on Thursday, calling on them to wear bright colors instead, presumably to appear less sinister or militant during confrontations with police.
Protesters have also largely refrained from appealing to political or ethnic tribalism, a long-standing feature of Kenyan politics. Social media hashtags have emphasised that all Kenyans stand united against demands for further tax increases by a government that offers little value for money. In one of the strangest twists in this saga, protesters called on opposition leader Raila Odinga to stay away from the protests so they could remain free from partisan politics, and Odinga acceded to their request.
Another of their online tactics is to express their displeasure with President Ruto by urging people to “unfollow Mr Ruto”, reducing their number of followers on social media. Some lawmakers say their mobile phones have been virtually jammed after tens of thousands of text messages flooded their inboxes urging them to reject the Finance Bill outright.
“Parliament has the final say on bills that are issued by the executive and vetted by the legislature. Through public participation, Kenyans have had a say,” Ruto’s office said on Tuesday. His attempts to ride the wave of protests appear to have failed, with protesters continuing to call for his resignation.
“The bill needs to be rejected instead of amended. It seems they think we will be so vocal on social media that we will tire ourselves out,” said a defiant student protester. Said Protesters took to the streets again on Thursday, AFP reported.
“Ruto has raised taxes and cut spending while his government is plagued by a major corruption scandal. His global travel and penchant for expensive shoes and watches have also sparked outrage on social media. Many Kenyans call him ‘Zakayo’ after the biblical tax collector Zacchaeus,” the paper said. The New York Times (The New York Times) I got it. on tuesday.
Kenya’s parliament is currently scheduled to vote on the Finance Bill on June 27. Remaining unpopular proposals include higher taxes on telephone and internet usage, increased fees for money transfers and financial services, and higher taxes on online businesses such as ride-sharing services.
