A series of decentralized mass protests took place in Kenya in response to tax increases proposed by the Government of Kenya in the Finance Bill 2024. Following the storming of the Kenyan Parliament, president William Ruto reportedly rejected the Bill on 28 June; signed into law the "Appropriations Bill 2024" to address the budget shortfall caused by the rejection. Nonetheless, protests escalated into riots on 2 July, as demonstrators demanded Ruto's resignation.
In May 2024, the proposed tax increases were heavily criticized by younger Kenyans who spearheaded the protests. They mobilized using social media platforms like X, TikTok, and Instagram. Young activists circulated calls to action, translated the bill into several local languages, used the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT to answer questions about the bill, and leaked the phone numbers of political leaders allowing protesters to spam them with SMS and WhatsApp messages. This move was first popularized by Twitter influencer Amerix who also posted a list of names of MPs and their phone numbers and encouraged Kenyans to share more numbers and send their message to the MPs.
Peaceful protests began on 18 June in Nairobi, spreading to other parts of the country, leading to widely condemned arrests. On 18 June, the Kenyan Parliament amended the bill, removing some controversial clauses. However, the bill was nonetheless passed the next day, leading to nationwide protests and heavy clashes with security forces. On 25 June protesters stormed the Parliament buildings, leading to clashes with police that resulted in at least 22 deaths and numerous injuries. Human Rights Watch accused Kenyan security services of abducting, torturing and extrajudicially executing citizens believed to be leaders of antigovernment protests.
On 26 June, President Ruto held a press conference and decided to withhold the signing of the bill due to its unpopularity.
There have been reports of the alleged participation of Ugandan units in the repression of the protests by various individuals within the protesters side.
Background
The Kenya Finance Bill protests trace back to the 2023 antigovernment protests that followed the passing of tax reforms in the "Kenya Finance Bill 2023." These protests, led by former prime minister Raila Odinga, left six people dead and dozens injured.
The protests spread nationwide on 20 June 2024, as police cracked down on demonstrators.
The 2024 Finance Bill is the first in a series of tax reforms based on a Medium-Term Revenue Strategy (MTRS) devised and published by the Kenyan government in 2023 through the Ministry of National Treasury and Economic Planning. The MTRS aims to increase the tax-to-GDP ratio in Kenya from 13.5% to at least 20% from 2024 to 2027. The figures from the MTRS are based on an International Monetary Fund estimate that Kenya has a potential of 25% tax-to-GDP ratio. Some of the suggestion of the MTRS are what informed the details of the Finance Bill 2024 including an annual circulation tax for all motor-vehicles and review of excise duty on petroleum products.
Kenya has been listed as one of the countries with problems with financial solvency since at least 2022. The Finance Bill was supposed to allow Kenya's government to have its debt restructured by the IMF.
Implications of the proposed bill
Some of the major changes proposed in the original 2024 Finance Bill include:
Impact on privacy
Amendment to the Kenya Data Protection Act of 2019 allows the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to access the financial information of Kenyans, such as mobile money statements, without court orders and at their own discretion.
Impact on cost of living
To raise taxes, the bill proposed the following measures which would result in the rise of the cost of living:
- Introduction of an Eco levy on all imported products that harm the environment such as sanitary towels, diapers, motorcycles, tires, plastic packaging, electronic devices, audio-visual recording equipment, radio equipment, and electronic equipment.
- Change of tax status of ordinary bread, transportation of sugarcane from farms to milling factories, locally assembled mobile phones, electric bikes, solar and lithium-ion batteries, and electric buses from tax-exempt to standard which would introduce a 16% VAT on the items.
- Change of how excise duty is calculated for alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and tobacco-based products to increase collection on those items. This could see the tax on alcoholic beverages and cigarettes increase by up to 40% or higher for more potent alcoholic beverages.
- Introduction of a 25% excise duty on vegetable and seed oils and 5% duty or KES 27,000 per tons on coal (whichever is higher).
- Increase of the Road Maintenance Levy from KES18 to KES25 per liter of fuel, which will raise the price of fuel even further.
- Increase of excise duty to 20% for financial services transactions, telephone and internet services, lottery, betting, gaming, and advertisements on the internet and social media.
In the absence of cheaper or viable manufacturers for some of the essential products, some of the measures would result in a higher retail price driving up the cost of living.
Other tax measures
- Introduction of a 2.5% motor vehicle tax with a minimum of KES 5,000 and a maximum of KES 100,000. This was later amended to remove the ceiling.
- Extension of the time that the Kenya Revenue Authority can issue a decision from 60 to 90 days.
- Introduction of a minimum top-up tax of 15% on resident individuals or entities with a permanent presence in Kenya, affiliated with multinational groups earning over EUR 750 million annually in at least two of the previous four years preceding the first year of income.
- Withholding tax on payments made for goods supplied to public entities at 3% for residents and 5% for non-residents.
- Introduction of a withholding tax on interest from infrastructure bonds with a maturity of at least three years at the rate of 5% for residents and 15% for non-residents.
- Introduction of a withholding tax of 5% for residents and 15% for non-residents on any sale in shops hosted by any digital marketplace. The digital marketplace would be required to withhold the required amount and remit it to the government.
- Change of tax status for fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides from zero-rated to exempt which means that the tax on these items is still zero but manufacturers can no longer claim VAT on these items.
Casualties and abductions
The number of casualties is unconfirmed, although the current estimate exceeds 10. The ambiguity arises from abductions, extrajudicial killings, and the tampering and withholding of evidence and information by the Kenya Police. However, injuries have been experienced by both protesters and police officers with the former suffering injuries resulting from police's extreme rules of engagement towards protesters. Despite being mostly peaceful initially, the protests resulted in at least two protesters killed by the police on 20 June, and around 200 injuries. Journalists and observers were among those injured. One police officer lost both forearms when a tear gas canister ignited after he delayed releasing it.
There have been numerous reports details detailing arbitrary arrests unsanctioned by courts and abductions of key persons of interest by the various agencies of the Kenya National Police. These include the abduction of veteran journalist, Macharia Gaitho at the Karen police station.
Human Rights Watch accused Kenyan security services of abducting, torturing and killing citizens believed to be leaders of antigovernment protests. Kenya's independent policing review body, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), launched a probe into the fatal police shooting of protesters with live ammunitions during the 20 June protests. On 25 June, protestors stormed the Parliament in Nairobi after the law was approved. Nineteen people were shot dead by police. Three other people were also killed in other cities.
Reactions
International Monetary Fund
Given that the Finance Bill 2024 was a direct reaction to the demands of the International Monetary Fund and resulting overwhelmingly negative reactions directed at the institution during the protests, IMF's communications director, Julie Kozack apologized to the Kenyans for the resulting bloodshed but reiterated that austerity measures and a change in policy by the Kenyan government towards debt were critical to Kenya's economic future.
Celebrities
Some internationally recognized celebrities and public figures have drawn attention to and supported the protests through tweets or other actions. For instance, Jamaican dancehall artist Konshens waved a flag and declared his support for the protests during his performance at the 2024 Summerjam festival in Germany.
Amidst the 20 June nationwide protests, "football Twitter," a soccer sub-culture on the X platform, simultaneously threw their support behind the protesting youths, rallying the world around Kenya by amplifying the use of hashtag #RejectFinanceBill2024.
On 23 June, Ugandan opposition leader and activist Bobi Wine voiced, using X, his support for the protests. Encouraging the protesters, he said, "Power to you, the young people of Kenya. You are speaking up and your voices are being heard far beyond the Kenyan borders. We hope your leaders too are listening! We continue to stand in solidarity with you. Viva." Many other international celebrities have also shown their support for the protesters. They shared posts of demonstrations and other banners.
Anonymous
The protests have seen international and local reactions since 19 June, with many online demanding the cancellation of the bill. Among them was Anonymous, a decentralized international hacker group, which warned President Ruto and the parliamentarians that it would launch cyber attacks.
On 23 June, during Holy Mass at the Cathedral of the ADN, Youth Serving Christ (YSC) members called the Finance Bill 2024 a common "enemy" for well-meaning Kenyans. They urged the congregation to familiarize themselves with the details of the Bill and appealed for prayers to ensure its rejection.
Opposition politicians
On 24 June, the Azimio Coalition party, under the leadership of the then minority leader Opiyo Wandayi, announced its unanimous rejection of the Finance Bill 2024 in its entirety. The party requested that its members in Parliament who had submitted amendments to the bill withdraw them immediately. However, the coalition's leader, Raila Odinga, has faced accusations of lacking support for the protests and of attempting to exploit the protests for personal gain by serving as a propaganda tool for the incumbent regime.
Julius Malema
On 24 June 2024, the Economic Freedom Fighters in South Africa led by Julius Malema made a statement standing with the protesters. The EFF says "We stand in solidarity with the people of Kenya who are bravely protesting against the exploitative legislation that seeks to impose severe tax."
Gideon Moi, Kenyan politician and party leader of the Kenya African National Union condemned the arrest and abduction of people perceived to be leaders of the protests. He said an attempt to suppress the voices of those who bear the brunt of over-taxation, unresponsive economic policies, and lack of accountability on the part of the government through unlawful tactics, is unacceptable.
Human rights organizations
On 25 June, Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres urged Kenya's police and security forces to "exercise restraint," stating that he was "deeply concerned over the reported violence that we've seen."
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights condemned the flagrant abuses of basic human rights by actions committed by the government including abductions, arbitrary arrests, violence on unarmed protesters and journalists and criticized the premature deployment of the Kenya Defence Forces forces to support the operations of the Kenya Police.
Human rights groups such as Amnesty Kenya, Kenyan associations of content creators, lawyers, medical officers, human rights defenders, and twenty-seven international organizations have unanimously added their voices to the protests against the bill, calling for uninterrupted internet access during the nationwide protests on 25 and 27 June. Earlier, rumors had spread that the Government of Kenya would shut down the internet during the scheduled protests to impede communication among the protesters.
The United States called for calm, and 13 other nations, including Canada, Germany, and Britain, expressed being "especially shocked" by the scenes outside parliament. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly spoke with President Ruto to urge restraint.
The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops condemned the killing of protesters who were killed on 25 June protests.
Amnesty International called for a commission to investigate the deaths of protesters.
State response
Following the protests, the Kenyan National Assembly officially approved the deployment of soldiers to assist the police in containing the already escalating protests on 25 June. Protesters had vowed to continue the protests on 27 June.
President William Ruto declared the protests "treasonous" and vowed a "full response" against protesters after the events of 25 June, during which protesters were met with tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets, and, according to rights groups, live ammunition. In response, protesters stormed the Parliament of Kenya and set parts of it on fire the same day. Addressing the deadly incident, Ruto stated, "We shall provide a full, effective, and expeditious response to today's treasonous events." He conveyed during a press briefing in Nairobi that the demonstrations had been "hijacked by dangerous people."