News
Kenya Dispatch: Uncertainty prevails after deadly protests against Finance Bill – JURIST
Aynsley Genga is JURIST’s senior correspondent in Kenya. She presented this report from Nairobi on Tuesday afternoon local time (EAT).
On Tuesday, Kenya entered its second week of protests against the controversial Finance Bill 2024. People from various counties such as Nairobi, Nakuru, Kisumu, Nyeri, Tana River and even Turkana decided to unite and protest against the legislation proposal. That’s it account which has been rejected by the people since it was presented to the public, a bill that provides over 800 million Kenyan shillings (Ksh) to cover government furniture but offers only Ksh.2 million for educational aid. The government even seeks to take people’s land, eliminating the aspect of freehold ownership. Through the bill, all land will belong to the government and the public will only be able to own land on a lease basis. This goes against Article 40 of the Constitution that enshrines people’s right to property. To make matters worse, the government is now seeking to tax unemployed people over the age of 25. This provision left many speechless, as one of the biggest problems facing Kenya at the moment is the high unemployment rate. Many wonder how the government expects them to pay taxes when they don’t even have money to buy basic goods like food or shelter.
Furthermore, the government has also decided that it intends to cut the budget for agriculture by Ksh 5 billion. This is despite the fact that last year the agricultural sector faced a major blow when it was discovered that the government had supplied farmers with false fertilizers that led to the destruction of many products. If the bill is approved, imported products such as sanitary pads will also be taxed. Even the elderly have not been spared as the government seeks to further tax their pensions. Another point of contention in the bill is the fact that the government wants to set aside Ksh.900 million for the First Lady’s office, money that many argue could be used to pay teachers and even doctors. The government also wants to reserve 800 million for confidential purposes. The public is wondering what exactly the bill means by confidential purposes. The bill does not even provide adequate information about what loans our country has taken. This bill, as many are arguing, is not a bill for the good of the people, it is a bill that was created for the benefit of a select few in the country while everyone else is condemned to a life of hardship and slavery.
Protesters could be seen filling the streets of Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) as early as 7am. Many managed to reach the CBD despite numerous roadblocks across the city. People came out on the streets despite hearing that there were snipers in the city killing protesters. The public came out in large numbers despite hearing that several protesters had been killed by the police and even now, as I write this, countless others are leaving work and heading to the CBD. We even had secondary school students joining the protests today as some schools were closed for the mid-term holidays. This just shows how fed up people are with the way the government is handling things. In my opinion, this bill was the final nail in the coffin for most Kenyans whose patience was running out after numerous acts of corruption by our leaders and numerous cruel remarks regarding the cost of living in Kenya by the leaders of the Kenya Kwanza regime (ruling party).
This weekend also saw numerous kidnappings. Among those kidnapped are students, doctors who provided medical assistance to protesters and social media influencers who demonstrated against the financial law. Some were taken at 3am today. Although some were released, others, like Gabriel Oguda, remain absent. We can only hope for their safety and speedy release.
Since the demonstrations began last week, the aim was to occupy Parliament and today people finally managed to enter Parliament. Several people were killed, but protesters refused to back down. Many could be heard saying: “either we die by a gun or we die by the Finance Bill. The end result is the same.” Others could be heard shouting: “There are too many of us, they can’t kill us all!” It’s honestly very tragic when a government drives its people to such a point of despair. Protesters were willing to die if it meant they could achieve something; for a chance for their screams to finally be heard.
It is also important to mention that the revelation of our Deputies that they are paid out Ksh. 2 million to pass the bill outraged the public. Kenyans were angered that the MPs had managed to sell us out for such a meager amount. Furthermore, the fact that police officers were deployed to Haiti on Monday, June 24, also raised a lot of tension in the country. Junior soldiers were deployed yesterday without even being paid in full for your services. The police were sent despite the High Court declaring the deployment unconstitutional. They were sent to save a country that even other military superpowers are trying to avoid. Many fear that the police officers were sent to die.
Amid corruption scandals, the Finance Law, inappropriate comments from several leaders, and the deployment of police to Haiti, many people question whether the government genuinely cares about its citizens. Numerous debates have emerged online about what the future holds for Kenya as a nation. Others suggested the dismissal of deputies, while others even suggested that the president be impeached. We have also had diaspora protests happening in other countries, such as the UK and the US.
Currently, there are many rumors circulating online, making it difficult to discern what is true and what is false. Among these rumors is the possibility of the government declaring a state of emergency. Additionally, Kenyans are experiencing difficulties accessing Twitter, and some are also reporting issues with TikTok’s performance. The internet also went down. We even had new media outlets, such as KTN News, which stated that they had received threats from authorities who wanted the situation of the protests not to be covered. The situation is honestly quite chaotic and the government’s response could quickly escalate the situation further.
The population awaits the final reading of the Finance Law which will take place on Thursday, June 27th. However, whether this will happen or not is up for debate as parliament has been disrupted by protesters. Tensions are high and only time will tell what fate has in store for the citizens of Kenya.
The views expressed in JURIST dispatches are solely those of our correspondents in the field and do not necessarily reflect the views of JURIST editors, staff, donors, or the University of Pittsburgh.