The tear gas and water cannons of the first anti-government demonstrations did not deter Sarah Njoroge, mobilized like many young hyperconnected Kenyans.
On Tuesday, this 21-year-old psychology student will once again take to the streets of the capital Nairobi to make the voice of the “Generation Z”at the heart of an unprecedented protest movement in this East African country.
In recent years, the young woman from the Kangemi slum had seen her parents forbid her older brothers and sisters from demonstrating, fearing police repression.
When the movement « Occupy Parliament » (“Occupy Parliament”) was born, she did not hesitate. “I didn’t need my mother’s permission to come”she says, interviewed by AFP, during a demonstration last Thursday, in an alley in the capital with walls covered in anti-corruption graffiti.
This movement against the new taxes planned in the 2024-25 draft budget was born and spread in a dazzling and unpredictable way on social networks, in particular TikTok, the favorite of young people in the “generation Z” (born after 1997).
In the demonstrations as in their daily lives, the demonstrators, from all walks of life, do not let go of their smartphones, taking selfies and live broadcasts.
A young woman listens to a speech during a demonstration against the Kenyan government’s plans for new taxes in Nairobi on June 23, 2024 / Patrick Meinhardt / AFP
A demonstration by a few hundred young people in Nairobi on June 18 turned into a national movement, with processions in many cities on June 20. On Tuesday, the call is for demonstrations and a general strike.
The anti-tax slogan is transformed into a questioning of the policies of President William Ruto, to cries of « Ruto must go » (“Ruto must go”).
“They (the leaders) instilled fear in our parents, we do not want to inherit it”says Jeremy Mwangi, a 19-year-old international relations student: “We want to defend ourselves, we want to decide our future”.
Caught short
The government was taken by surprise.
A protester takes a selfie during a rally against the Kenyan government’s plans for new taxes in Nairobi on June 23, 2024 / Patrick Meinhardt / AFP
After initially qualifying « d’ignorant » this movement led by “cool kids”he announced on June 18 to reverse most of the planned taxes, in particular a 16% VAT on bread, without succeeding in stopping the protest.
The demonstrators denounce a sleight of hand aimed at compensating for the cancellation of certain tax measures by others, in particular an increase in fuel taxes.
On Sunday, President Ruto, elected in August 2022, said he was open to dialogue. “I am very proud of our young people (…) They have asserted themselves in a peaceful manner and I want to tell them that we are going to discuss with them”he assured.
One of the leaders of the movement, the journalist and activist Hanifa Adan, asked him to “respond publicly” to requests for cancellation of new taxes.
“President Ruto cannot pretend to support us while his police brutalize peaceful protesters”she told AFP on Sunday, saying she was hiding for fear of arrest.
The first two demonstrations left two dead and dozens injured.
Kenya has a long history of protest movements – and repression – particularly during the 1980s and 90s, when many activists for the establishment of a multi-party system were imprisoned.
Protesters on the ground after being sprayed with tear gas by police during a demonstration against the Kenyan government’s new taxes in Nairobi, June 20, 2024 / LUIS TATO / AFP
In the following decades, demonstrations, which generally brought together residents of poor neighborhoods paid for by political parties, often gave rise to violence.
Last year, a series of rallies against the high cost of living, called by the Azimio opposition coalition, sometimes degenerated into looting and deadly clashes with the police.
The current protests have remained largely peaceful, with demonstrators often responding to tear gas and water cannon fire with provocative gestures, dancing and chanting.
This hyperconnected youth uses their smartphones to protect themselves and films the police, regularly accused of human rights violations.
“Ripe for a revolution”
Kenya is one of the fastest growing economies in East Africa. But more than a third of its 52 million inhabitants live below the poverty line, according to official figures.
A young man records a live video on his cell phone during a demonstration against the Kenyan government’s plans for new taxes in Nairobi on June 23, 2024 / Patrick Meinhardt / AFP
“Kenya is ripe for a revolution”said columnist Macharia Gaitho on June 17 in the Daily Nation newspaper, warning that the movement could “shake the foundations of a state that does not listen to the people and does not care about their concerns.”
The “generation Z” intends to break the cliché of an apolitical generation, living behind screens. She brought her elders in her wake « millenials » (born in the 1980s-1990s) who joined the processions.
“As Generation Z, we will move and they (the government) will be shocked”launched Ivy, 26, last Thursday, promising: ” This is just the beginning “.
