Kenya agreed to a bailout programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2021.
The programme promised sweeping economic reforms, including a steep increase in revenue collection to 25 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to ease the country’s debt burden.
The next year, President William Ruto came to power after a campaign championing Kenya’s working poor.
Since then, he has been caught between his election promises and appeasing the IMF’s demands, urging the government to cut deficits to obtain more funding.
In the 2024-25 bill, the Kenyan government aims to raise $2.7bn in additional taxes to reduce the budget deficit and state borrowing.
Kenya’s public debt stands at 68 percent of GDP, higher than the 55 percent of GDP recommended by the World Bank and the IMF.
Grappling with acute liquidity challenges amid uncertainty over its ability to access capital from financial markets, Kenya has turned to the IMF – which has urged the government to meet revenue targets to access more funding.
Stipulations placed by the IMF on countries and the subsequent economic measures taken by their governments to meet those demands have caused unrest in several countries, including Argentina, Suriname, and Sri Lanka in recent years.
Kenyans don’t know what their taxes are doing for them
Kenya in general is a country in economic distress. The price of almost everything has gone up, but what has not gone up are the wages that people are taking home … And so when the government has been increasing taxes over the past few years, it leads to people having to choose whether to put food on the table or not.
Then you have young people in the education sector – thousands of them are [graduating] but not finding jobs.
[But] the Kenyan government has no other plan apart from increasing taxes. Kenya has no oil or mineral wealth, like diamonds.
Most Kenyans, when you speak to them, do not trust their politicians. What they find is that politicians say one thing in public when they’re under pressure, but when reality comes, they do the opposite.
Kenyans are not against paying taxes, but they don’t see what their taxes are doing for them.
Police must ‘exercise restraint’ and stop using ‘excessive force’: FIDH
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) says Kenyans are “protesting for their rights amidst rising inflation, post-flood recovery, and ongoing corruption”.
“These youth-led demonstrations, ongoing for weeks, reflect deep-seated grievances that can only be addressed by substantial reforms, reduction of government spending and the tackling of corruption,” the group said on X.
President Ruto’s image will be damaged by crackdown on protests
President William Ruto has been in public office for a long time – he was first elected to Kenya’s parliament in 1997. He eventually rose to the position of deputy president in 2013, before becoming president in 2022.
Al Jazeera’s Hamza Mohamed explained that Ruto has long valued his image, one that will take a big hit in the wake of the anti-tax protests.
“[Ruto is] used to seeing protests, but he has never seen one that leads to the burning of parts of parliament,” Mohamed said.
“This matters a lot to President Ruto and his image, the one he wants to portray to the rest of the world, and also to the countries in the region,” Mohamed said. “He is seen as a democratic leader, a president that allows press freedom, and one who doesn’t use force against peaceful protesters.”
Two undersea internet cables experiencing outage: Telecoms provider
Safaricom PLC, a Kenyan telecommunications firm, says the cables suffering the outage “deliver internet traffic in and out of the country”.
“We have activated redundancy measures to minimise service interruption and keep you connected as we await the full restoration of the cables,” Safaricom PLC said in a statement shared on social media.
Earlier, we reported that internet connectivity monitor NetBlocks said Kenya was experiencing a major service disruption.
“The root cause of the current internet disruption remains unexplained at the present time,” NetBlocks said in its most recent update.
Foreign ambassadors ‘deeply concerned’ by violence
A group of foreign ambassadors and high commissioners in Kenya has stressed that Kenya’s constitution “guarantees the right to peaceful protest” and all actors must uphold the rule of law.
“We are deeply concerned by the violence witnessed in many parts of the country during the recent protests, and are especially shocked by the scenes witnessed outside the Kenyan Parliament,” they wrote in a statement shared by the British High Commission.
It was signed by representatives from Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, and the United States, among others.
“We welcome civil engagement by all Kenyans, in particular the youth, in addressing issues of vital public concern,” the statement reads. “We call for restraint on all sides, and encourage all leaders to find peaceful solutions through constructive dialogue.”
Kenya opposition leader demands immediate end to violence against protesters
Raila Odinga, the head of the opposition Azimio political alliance and a former prime minister, has commented on the demonstrations, calling for an immediate end to the violence against the anti-finance bill protesters, immediate dialogue and international intervention.
‘Stop the use of lethal force to protect life’: Rights groups
The rights groups in Kenya have also raised alarm about 21 abductions and disappearances carried out by uniformed and non-uniformed officers over the past 24 hours.
At least 52 arrests were also reported, according to the Law Society of Kenya, the Kenya Medical Association, Amnesty International Kenya and the Police Reforms Working Group-Kenya.
“We urge the State and all parties to de-escalate the situation and stop the use of lethal force to protect life,” they said in a statement.
The organisations also appealed for “safe medical corridors for all medical personnel and ambulances to access the injured”.
“The scenes of police officers shooting at medical emergency center at Holy Basilica must cease immediately. Again, the use of live bullets must now stop. Safe passage for all emergencies services to evacuate and treat the many wounded is now urgent.”
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