Young and fearless, meet Kenya's new generation of protesters, who want to change how their country is run.

Nairobi

Anti-tax protests in Kenya have spread across the country. One person has been killed and over 200 injured. 

Kenya protests

Kenya tax protests inspire broader demand for change

Recent protests in Nairobi have seen thousands of Kenyans take to the streets in opposition to a government plan to raise taxes. The demonstrators, who have grown in number with each march, are primarily young and educated individuals concerned about their future prospects. Nyawanga Awuor, a student of law and data science, has been documenting these events on social media, highlighting the government's controversial finance bill and the police's failed attempts to disperse the crowds with tear gas and water cannons.

The protesters argue that widespread corruption and mismanagement by President William Ruto's government have pushed them to their limits. This sentiment is not new but has been building over time. In response to the mounting pressure, Ruto backed down and withdrew the bill. Kibera, Nairobi's largest slum, has also seen its residents, many of whom live on less than $2 a day, take to the streets after learning about the finance bill via social media.

Salim Juma and his friends, who run a community project in Kibera, highlight that this movement transcends tribal lines and has a unified goal of rejecting the finance bill and demanding the government's resignation. The protests have resulted in at least 30 deaths, including some caused by security agents using live ammunition. Rights groups report that dozens of campaigners have been abducted or gone missing, claims which the police deny. Despite the uncertain future, the movement has achieved a significant milestone of reducing fear among the demonstrators.



Kenya tax protests inspire broader demand for change

Nyawanga Awuor was one of the thousands of protesters on the streets of Nairobi in the last two weeks. She's studying law and data science at university. She'd been explaining the government's controversial plan to raise taxes to her tens of thousands of followers on Instagram, then documenting the demonstrations and the police's failed attempts to break them up with tear gas and water cannon. Each protest grew bigger than the last. The big demonstrators entered parliament on Tuesday. They said blatant corruption and misspending by President William Ruto's government had pushed them to the limit, and so they rejected the government's finance bill. It's not new anger. It's not anger specifically for the finance bill. It's long pent-up anger from a long period of time of failure of our representatives to adequately represent us. I concede. On Wednesday, Ruto backed down and withdrew the bill. Many of the demonstrators were young and educated and seeking jobs. Many said they're worried about their futures. Kenya's economy has grown significantly in recent decades, on and off. The middle class has grown too. But not all communities have benefited as much from economic growth, and the plan to raise taxes, even on essentials such as cooking oil and bread, didn't go unnoticed by people living here. Kibera, Nairobi's largest slum, home to nearly a million people, most of whom live on less than $2 a day. Salim Juma and his friends run a community project here. They're all in their mid-twenties. They say in recent weeks, they've learned about the government's annual finance bill for the first time in their lives from social media content. And so they also took to the street. We asked them what's different about this movement. We do not look at the tribe. For us, we look at the one aim, one goal. The one goal is that to ensure that the government rejects the finance bill, and then we ensure that the government resigns so that we can bring new leaders on board who can take care of us. At least 30 people have been killed, including by security agents who used live gunfire on unarmed protesters outside parliament. Rights groups say dozens of campaigners have been abducted or gone missing. Police have denied it. That's led Salim and many others to say Ruto should resign. Nobody knows what will happen next, and if or when crowds will gather on the streets again, but the protesters have achieved something that was almost unimaginable just two weeks ago. Many say their fear has gone. Malcolm Webb, Al Jazeera, Nairobi, Kenya.

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Kingston

Hurricane Beryl

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