Kenyan President William Ruto, who won the August 2022 presidential election on a promise to lower the cost of living within 100 days, has failed to address economic hardships in Kenya – and triggered a wave of unrest that could have important consequences well beyond his country.
On June 18, thousands of Kenyan youths took to the streets to protest a controversial tax bill that threatened to raise the prices of basic commodities. While Ruto tried to make immediate, albeit small concessions, the protesters refused to give up on their objectives. Every day, more and more people joined the revolt and even the parliament was stormed.
As police moved to break up the rallies with force, dozens were killed and scores more were injured.
Eventually, on June 26, Ruto gave up and changed course.
“I concede and therefore I will not sign the 2024 finance bill and it shall subsequently be withdrawn,” he said in a televised address. “The people have spoken.”
However, even the withdrawal of the contentious bill proved insufficient to calm the public’s anger. So in an effort to put an end to the protests, on June 11, Ruto made another major concession, dismissed his cabinet, and promised to form a new, “broad-based” one in its place.
Nonetheless, the cabinet reshuffle (in which many of the dismissed secretaries unceremoniously returned to the cabinet, joined by a few token opposition figures) also failed to mollify Kenya’s unwavering protesters. People are still on the streets, and demanding Ruto’s immediate resignation.
As the demonstrations continue to gain momentum, it is looking increasingly unlikely that protesters will return home before securing an early election.
The continuation of Kenya’s demonstrations after the withdrawal of the bill that triggered them shows clearly that these protests are much more than an over-the-top reaction to a single, ill-thought-out policy proposal. The proposed finance bill, it seems, was simply the last straw that broke the camel’s back. People have had enough of endemic corruption, chronic failures in governance, and a lack of socioeconomic support and opportunities for upward mobility. They have had enough of struggling to put food on their tables. They have had enough of inequality and poverty. They want systemic change, and they want it now.
The current situation in Kenya reminds me of the early........