There is clearly no exit sign for the Gen Zs who have steered the conversation and protests on the the 2024 Finance Bill that passed the National Assembly this week, as further calls to demonstrate continue into the 20th of June across various urban centres in Kenya.

Citizens took to the streets in Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisumu and others, demanding their respective members of Parliament to unite and reject in its entirety.

Speaking on the Jeff Koinange Live programme on Citizen TV, senior counsel Paul Mwangi stressed that “the call is not about amending the finance bill. It’s about rejecting it.” This was echoed by his fellow activist Wanjira Wanjiru, who explained that this is a people-led initiative to see our elected officials own up to their civic duties as elected officials.

Gen Zs have been at the forefront in the march for greater transparency and democracy over the past week, using their technological suave to sway more and more of their counterparts towards this cause. As the #RejectFinanceBill2024 gains further momentum, becoming the most popular Kenyan hashtag and garnering over one million tweets and posts on X, several related hashtags have cropped up in the past few days inflating Kenyans’ vitality on the subject.

These are #OccupyEldoret, #OccupyBunge2024, #OccupyNanyuki and #OccupyKisumu, all meant to rally fellow city dwellers to come out in droves in opposition of the bill.

Stern government critic and Budget and Appropriations Committee member Babu Owino equated the protests to the “Arab Spring” and the American revolution, terming Gen Zs and millennials as the third liberation force. He has been a crucial voice in the opposition party, arguing that the proposals in the finance bill will disproportionately impact the common mwananchi.

In the panel interview on JKL, he called out the Kenya Kwanza government for failing to fulfill its promises to Kenyans and cited the bill as ‘budgeted corruption’ where the government is keen to burden Kenyans with more taxes to fund personal endeavours and allocating huge sums of to offices that do not exist. This is one of the causes of the ager in many Kenyans who are fed up with the mishandling and mismanagement of public resources by government officials.

Even as the ongoing peaceful protests are met with violence by the police and mass arrests of hundreds, including seasoned journalists and veteran activists, these young Kenyans have received national and international coverage, with many in the political class and media outlets lauding the sheer passion and dedication of the young people to stand up and demand accountability, realising that their actions now will secure their lives in the coming years.

Former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and opposition leader Raila Odinga have also taken to social media to commend the activism spirit exuded by the young people.

‘The stakes are high and we are not gambling with our future.’ This is the collective message from Gen Zs. It is about interrogating the management of resources, transparency in government expenditure and demanding the realisation of the fundamental rights of every Kenyan as enshrined in the constitution – better healthcare, security and education.

Who dares to scare us?

Comprising over 55 percent of the general population, the young generation has been instrumental in the new-age revolution.

Backed by seasoned activists, social media personalities and fellow citizens, the baton has been passed to them as they take the stage in the countrywide protests. We are #Tribeless. We know no barriers nor divisive political games that have besmirched past protests against oppressive regimes. We are not corrupted on the basis of individual or political differences.

We are one.

The finance bill is a shared concern for all Kenyans and we owe it to our predecessors to make good on what they have done before us. We are ashamed of our government and it is this shame that propels us, with passion, to secure a future where our generation can survive better than our parents.

— The writer is a communication student at the University of Nairobi