Thousands of young Kenyans are protesting against tax hikes

Thousands of mostly young demonstrators took to the streets of Kenya on Thursday to protest tax hikes, whistling and chanting slogans in a vivid display of Gen-Z protesters’ anger against the government.

Police in the capital Nairobi fired tear gas and water cannons at groups of protesters near parliament, but apart from isolated skirmishes earlier in the day, the action – dubbed “Occupy Parliament” – remained largely peaceful.

Led largely by young Kenyans, the demonstrations began in Nairobi on Tuesday before spreading nationwide on Thursday.

They have galvanized widespread discontent with President William Ruto’s economic policies in a country already facing a cost-of-living crisis.

Hours after demonstrations on Tuesday saw hundreds of youths clash with police, the cash-strapped government agreed to make concessions, canceling some of the tax increases set out in a new bill.

But the government still plans to press ahead with some tax increases and has defended the proposed taxes as necessary to fill its coffers and reduce reliance on foreign borrowing.

Protests took place across Kenya on Thursday, with thousands gathering in Nairobi, the Indian Ocean city of Mombasa, the Rift Valley city of Nakuru and the opposition stronghold of Kisumu, according to AFP reporters and television footage.

Separate clashes erupted in Nairobi between protesters and police, who fired tear gas and water cannons at demonstrators gathered near parliament, which began debating the bill on Wednesday.

Despite a heavy police presence and roadblocks erected along several roads leading to parliament, hundreds of protesters gathered in groups, blowing whistles and vuvuzelas, waving placards and chanting: “Ruto must go.”

Ivy, a 26-year-old jobseeker dressed in a T-shirt and leggings, told AFP she was first prompted to protest on Thursday because she was “scared” for her future They.

“This bill cannot be adopted. This bill will finish us off. We have no jobs… we can’t even open businesses, we can’t do anything in this country,” she said.

Another first-time protester, Bella, said she showed up “to make sure the funding bill is defeated.”

The 22-year-old university graduate told AFP she was “not impressed” by the government’s concessions earlier this week.

– “You’re lying to us” –

The presidency on Tuesday announced the scrapping of proposed taxes on bread purchases, car ownership, as well as financial and mobile services, prompting a warning from the treasury of a 200 billion shilling shortfall as a result of budget cuts.

The government has now targeted an increase in fuel prices and export taxes to fill the gap left by the changes, a move critics say will make life more expensive in a country already struggling with high inflation.

“They’re just trying to lie to us, the taxes they took out on bread they added somewhere else,” Bella said, describing it as a tactic to “blindfold” citizens.

A parliamentary source told AFP that a vote on the proposals was expected on June 27, three days before the deadline for adopting the bill.

The taxes are expected to raise 346.7 billion shillings ($2.7 billion), equivalent to 1.9 percent of GDP, and reduce the budget deficit from 5.7 percent to 3.3 percent of GDP.

– high inflation –

Tuesday’s protest in Nairobi saw black-clad protesters forced into a cat-and-mouse chase with police who fired volleys of tear gas.

At least 335 people were arrested, according to a consortium of lobby groups including the human rights commission, KNCHR and Amnesty Kenya.

“We changed tact. Today we will be dressed in colorful and defiant clothes to avoid a repeat arrest of all those in black,” said one march organizer, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Kenya is one of the most dynamic economies in East Africa, but a third of its 51.5 million people live in poverty.

Headline inflation remained stubbornly high at an annual rate of 5.1 percent in May, while food and fuel inflation stood at 6.2 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively, according to bank data central.

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