Protests in Kenya: What are the key reasons?

Protests in Kenya turned violent on June 25. The violence got sparked when lawmakers passed a controversial financial bill. It is important to note, that William Ruto, the President of Kenya withdrew the Bill the next day, protests still continued. The situation turned gruesome, as the Kenya National Human Rights Commission (KNHRC) stated that about 50 people passed away and over 628 got arrested in the violence.

Here is everything you need to know about the bill and the protests.

The Bill

It was in the month of May when the Bill got introduced. The Bill imposed a 16 percent Value-Added Tax (VAT) on bread, 5 % tax on digital monetary transactions, excise duty on cooking oil, an annual 2.5% tax on vehicles, a 16% tax on goods and services for the construction and equipping of specialized hospitals, an eco-tax on plastic goods, 25% excise duty on cooking oil, and an increase in the import tax from 2-3%.

A few of them were dropped after the initial phases of protests. The larger objective of the state is to gather $2.7 billion in taxes to meet the debt of $80 billion, which is actually 68% of the GDP of Kenya. The Bill led to public distress because of the rising cost of living.

The protests

It was on June 26 when the President of Kenya withdrew the controversial Bill after country-wide violent protests. However, Mr. Ruto's use of force on the protestors attracted global criticism. Since then, the protests have expanded on its demands, causes, intensity, and geography.

The protests were not only centered around the bill, but were rather an expression of mounting discontent on the President's financial management and administration. Many decisions taken by the President after coming to power, such as scrapping of fuel subsidies, attracted immense criticism and discontent. The protests of July 2023 against a yet another bill is also fresh in the memory of people. Therefore, while the initial intent behind the bill was to show discontentment towards the new Bill, it got diverted after the President used force, deaths, and live ammunition to stop the protests. 

Police brutality kickstarted the second phase of protests. By the third week of the protests, it got evolved into a huge anti-government protest, angered by corruption, unresolved public grievances, and misgovernance. The protest also demanded the resignation of Mr. Ruto.

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Additionally, the quick success of the protests increased the confidence of Kenyans to show their discontent against other public grievances as well. In 2022, Mr. Ruto came to power. He promised to cater to the issues of poverty and unemployment in the country. However, the President could not maintain the popularity and support he attracted during the elections. the inflation rate of Kenya was recorded to be at 5.1 percent in May. As per the World Bank, while Kenya stands as one of the most developing nations in Africa, one third of the total population of the country lives in great poverty. It also reported that over 5.7 percent of the labour force in Kenya is unemployed. This is the highest rate of unemployment in Kenya. Moreover, it is worrisome to note that as per the Corruption Perceptions Index of 2023 by the Transparency International, Kenya ranks 126 out of a total 180.

Therefore, while the new Bill was the starting point of the protests in Kenya, all the other reasons fueled the anger of the people.

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