By Daanyaal Matthews
Kenya has been embroiled in political tension since the Kenyan parliament attempted to introduce the Financial Bill 2024, a bill that would see the Kenyan government raise taxes to finance debt accumulated with the International Monetary Fund. The bill was heavily contented as it attempted to increase taxes on numerous goods and services but sparked youth involvement when the Kenyan government expanded the tax base to include digital jobs and incomes, leading to rampant protests throughout the East African state. These protests forced the government to repeal the bill and led the President of Kenya, William Ruto, to sack the majority of his cabinet, opening the door to a ‘broad-based’ government, but this move has still been critiqued by protestors as nothing more than a superficial change.
For Dan Mugera, a political commentator living in Nairobi, the perspective of Kenyans—that the latest cabinet is merely a superficial change—was reaffirmed when President Ruto included six ministers in his cabinet that were previously axed.
“This week it was a surprise or unexpected rumours coming to reality when he included new cabinet secretaries, some of them from the opposition, majorly from the opposition party. People are completely unhappy. This is the party of the former current opposition leader, Raila Odinga, who is also at the same time vying to become AU Chairman,’ said Mugera.
President Muto finds himself between a rock and a hard place, with the debt his nation faces being extraneous, requiring immediate intervention to service, but given the increased unrest, it crafts an untenable situation, especially with the unrelenting rage of the youth fueling the anti-government protests. However, for Mugera, the activities of the youth merely epitomize the thoughts of the populace, stating:
“They [youth] have just been bold enough to go out into the streets. But the majority of Kenyans were already not happy with the task measures that the government was taking. They were feeling the government was just taking and takin from people.”
VOCNews
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