“Often dismissed as young and ignorant about civic affairs, Kenya’s Gen Z challenges the narrative by initiating bold concerns about the unpopular bill on TikTok, before their anger explodes into nationwide protests.”
The Finance Bill 2024 was introduced to the Parliament of Kenya in May 2024. This controversial bill sought to tax essential commodities amid a slow economy.
As if not enough, the bill also proposed to allow the Kenya Revenue Authority to monitor citizens’ financial records.
Before it was presented to the Parliament for approval, Kenyans had already displayed dissatisfaction with it, calling out to their respective Members of Parliament to reject it.
Despite such efforts, most MPs went forth, vowing to pass the bill into law, substantiating that scrapping the bill would affect the 2024–25 budget.
According to the African Commission on Human Rights, the enactment of the bill into law would inevitably affect the basic human needs of Kenyans.
We are not our ancestors
When it finally became clear that the MPs were out to serve their own interests as opposed to the interests of the people who voted them in, hell broke loose.
Unlike in the past, when Kenya’s opposition acted as the people’s voice, this time around it was different. From nowhere, a young and energetic generation took over the stage with unprecedented vigor, taking matters into their own hands.
Reject the Finance Bill 2024
Even after Gen Z expressed dissatisfaction with the proposed Finance Bill 2024, in scorn, Kenya’s government proved adamant.
This unpleasant reality, compounded with obvious hints that some Members of Parliament had been bribed to pass the bill, therefore culminated in explosive anti-government protests by Kenya’s most energetic population, the Gen Z.
To ensure that their voices were heard, these young Kenyans crafted a rare strategy guided by three peculiar slogans:
We are tribeless
Throughout history, past protests in Kenya have been characterized by tribal undertones. For instance, in the last few decades, Kenya’s political involvement and efforts have been truncated midway because of the tribal affiliations of its citizens.
In contrast, to completely dismantle such barriers to political action, Gen Z shocked the world by coming out tribeless, and it worked.
We are leaderless
In the past, any action geared towards political change was orchestrated through elected individual leaders, who had all along been claiming to represent the voice of the people.
On most occasions, such a reality jeopardizes meaningful change since most political leaders are compromised. In contrast, through the protests, Kenya’s Gen Z defied such corruptible and ineffective representation by coming out leaderless yet highly confident and organized.
We are fearless
Unlike before, when citizens engaged in political action for change out of fear of the government’s wrath, Gen Z went forth to prove that fear is a real enemy to change.
This is why, even with the brutal deaths of some of the protesters, these young Kenyans continued to push for reforms and accountability in the governance of the country.
Conclusion
Despite earlier government assertions that the bill must pass into law, the gravity of the Gen Z protests inevitably became a surprise force for change. Consequently, the controversial finance bill was scrapped and the entire cabinet fired, followed by the formation of a broad-based government.