By Lucy,
Kenya is witnessing an unprecedented wave of youth-led protests demanding the
retraction of controversial tax proposals in the 2024 Finance Bill. On Tuesday 18th,
young Activists took control of most Kenyan towns, significantly pressuring Members of
Parliament (MPs) to reconsider the bill.
For days, both young and older generations united against the tax proposals, part of
President William Ruto’s plan to have Kenyans fully fund their budget. President Ruto,
nicknamed “Zacchaeus” or “Zakayo” in Swahili—after the biblical tax collector—hoped
to enforce these measures. However, his administration was unprepared for the intense
opposition.
Ahead of a crucial parliamentary debate, Ruto met his MPs at State House, making
significant concessions by dropping some contentious proposals and adjusting others.
Despite these changes, the protests did not cease. The bill, described as punitive and
Insensitive to already burdened citizens, proposed substantial tax hikes to reduce
external borrowing, aiming to generate approximately $2.7 billion, or 1.9% of the
nation’s GDP.
Scrapped taxes included those on cooking oil, mobile money services, and motor
vehicles, which critics argued would harm the insurance industry. With these
concessions, young protesters continued to demand the complete rejection of all tax
proposals, underscoring their dissatisfaction with the government’s fiscal policies and
calling for a more inclusive economic strategy in Kenya.
