African Youth United For Change, Protest In Kenya’s Historic Rejection Of The Finance Bill 2024.

The poor economic dispensation in the country coupled with other challenges such as high unemployment has brought a huge dynamic shift in the East African nation of Kenya. Historically, the youth have been alienated from the political process and key decision making mechanisms in the country mainly owing to under representation at different levels of the leadership hierarchy of the nation.

One of the main reasons for this alienation is the nature of Kenyan politics where electoral positions are won mainly through voter bribing and the rich elderly political figures in the society with the wealth and riches use money to earn political persuasion end up in parliament to represent their own selfish interests at the expense of the taxpayers.

In a turn of events this month, the finance bill 2024 which integrates various tax additions on different sectors and subsectors sparked the interest and the wrath of the public. With a few rushed public participation sessions by the finance parliamentary committee, the bill got enormous support in parliament during the first and 2^nd reading. With a deaf ear to the public, the President William Ruto also continued to push heavily for the support of the bill.

With social media and rapid sharing of information about the oppressive Finance Bill, Kenya youth organised and rallied a call for protest against the finance bill. The protest was set for the same day parliamentarians were voting for the Bill on Thursday and to no surprise the MPS voted in favour of the bill. In the background of the support for the bill momentum for protest was rapidly increasing and Tuesday 25^th June, the historic protest ‘occupy parliament’ took place across the country. With Nairobi being the epicentre of this explosive protest with police forces using teargas to disperse large crown of disgruntled Kenyan youth.

The quick build up of the crowds with thousands showing up to protest caught security forces by surprise. The crowds mainly comprising Gen Z made their way to parliament and stormed the building. The MPs who had just voted to pass the bill dashed for their lives in fear of the protesters who occupied parliament even with gun shots being fired and two protestors being shot dead outside parliament and more injured.

In the backdrop of the protest, the nation has also experience widespread abduction of protestors and some abducted at night from their homes by unidentified gangs allegedly part of the police. This has further fuelled the protest movement, demanding for the immediate and unconditional release of the abducted persons.

The dark days of oppression and injustice as well as economic pillage seem to be creeping back under the current Kenya Kwanza regime and the youth have vowed to keep fighting to rescue and take charge of their future from the oppressive political class that continue to perpetuate neo-colonialism in their policies and governance strategies over the masses.