Many Kenyan towns and cities have returned to an uneasy calm after weeks of protests of tax increases during which dozens of people were reportedly killed.
Youth organizers successfully pressured the government to drop the tax plans. The success has been largely credited to nontribal youth, in contrast to previous demonstrations that were easily labeled as tribal demands by the political and security establishments.
On Friday, Kenyans buried Rex Massai at his home in Athi River, some 30 kilometers east of Nairobi. The 29-year-old was the first to be killed in the anti-tax protest that began June 18.
The protests forced President William Ruto to withdraw the 2024 finance bill, passed by the parliament last week, after demonstrators stormed the parliament building and burned a section of it.
Protesters argued that the bill, meant to raise taxes on food items, fuel and motor vehicles, would make life difficult as they continued to deal with the high cost of living.
But what began as a protest of the tax increase has created bad blood between Kenyan youth and politicians, who they accuse of failing to do their legislative work, mismanaging public money and bad governance.
Protesters told VOA they were fighting for their rights. One said they must “rise up and fight for our rights.” Another said this is a new generation, one that must fight for its rights.
The youth accused their parents of tribalism and accepting bad governance, while saying politicians have made their lives harder.
Despite the criticism, the older generation has also fought for multiparty democracy and the new constitution. Each time they came out to push for political, social and economic reforms, they were labeled tribalists wanting to grab power through the back door.
According to political experts, for decades, the state has used ethnicity to sow division and create fear among communities.
However, in the current protest, the demonstrators say they are leaderless and tribeless and want to change how the country’s affairs are run.
Martin Andati, a Kenyan political commentator, told VOA it has been difficult for the state to deploy old tactics against the youth protest.
“They are used to normal mobilization, Raila [Odinga] kind of arrangement, where you call for a press conference and say you will be on the streets,” Andati said, referring to the former prime minister and 2022 presidential candidate against Ruto. “These ones were doing it differently, largely on social media, which is not controlled by the state, so it became very difficult for the state to manage them because they are playing mind games, and it was more about intellect than physical mobilization.”
Odinga has been on the front lines of Kenyan protests and political change despite losing the presidential election five times.
Lecturer and economics expert Samuel Nyandemo said hard economic times have united Kenyans regardless of their ethnicity.
“The economic challenges facing all the youths in this country is felt in one perspective that this has been occasioned by poor governance,” Nyandemo said. “For the youth to now salvage the country they now said, ‘Let’s unite regardless where you come from because nobody is safe unless they fight that common enemy of poverty, impunity and poor governance.’”
Kenya’s government blames the country’s economic challenges on foreign loans, mostly from China. The government says it is using more than half of the revenue it collects to repay those debts.
As pressure mounts on Ruto and his government, the president formed a task force Friday to audit the public debt, which has largely been shrouded in secrecy.
