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Kenya tax protests live: More protests expected after finance bill passes | News
Protests have returned to the streets of Kenya’s towns and cities, as the country reaches the last phase of the slow-motion revolution it has been experiencing for more than 40 years.
Fueled by anger at the state’s arrogance, corruption and long-standing neglect of its needs, as currently manifested in its tax proposals, a new generation has taken up the fight, and it is glorious to see.
Two years ago, the same young Kenyans were ridiculed as “disengaged” for failing to register to vote and for failing to turn out in the general elections.
“It has a huge impact on democracy,” lamented one analyst. However, far from detaching themselves, young people demonstrate that what they reject is what I described at the time like “the political rituals of your parents” – the formalized forms of democratic participation that our elders value but that have consistently failed to deliver on their promises.
They are “opting for other, more effective ways of engaging with governance in the years between elections”.
Read our opinion piece here.