As Kenya eagerly awaits the Finance Bill 2025, scheduled to be tabled before Parliament on June 12, 2025, Gen Z activists have issued unmistakable ultimatums, calling for a reasonable and economically friendly budget.  

The Gen Z movement has declared strong opposition to the FY 2025/26 budget, which they term economically oppressive.

At the top of their list of demands, activists are calling for a balanced budget, emphasising that the country must live within its means.  

Additionally, they demand that every line item in the budget be justified with evidence to ensure honesty and accountability—a requirement they insist is non-negotiable.

Most notably, they insist the budget should not impose additional taxation of any form on Kenyans, and that no new loans should be borrowed without public participation and approval from citizens. Regarding current taxes, they demand that taxpayers receive value for every tax paid.

“We reject the Finance Bill 2025. We vehemently oppose any budget cuts to critical sectors. Any domestic or international creditors who lend money to President Ruto will do so at their own peril,” stated the Free Kenya Movement during a meeting with National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi at Jeevanje Gardens in Nairobi.

Accountability concerns

The activists blame the government for bloated expenditures resulting from a lack of accountability and deeply rooted corruption.

“Today, we are declaring total war on extravagant, wasteful, and duplicated government expenditure at both national and county levels. We must bring an immediate end to uncontrolled and unjustified spending,” said Felix Wambua, National Coordinator of the Free Kenya Movement.

They also insist that Kenya has sufficient resources and revenue to meet citizens’ needs and that all political slush funds must be terminated, with serious fiscal consolidation implemented.

Proposed reforms

To reduce government expenditure that has burdened ordinary citizens, the activists propose that the national government be downsized, all parallel and duplicated functions be abolished, and budgets be aligned and allocated according to clear functions.

They also accuse the government of conducting an illegal budget-making process that violates the constitution, demanding that Parliament halt any further approval of the FY 2025/26 budget until both expenditure and revenue estimates are comprehensively presented to Kenyans.

Debt transparency

“Budget making since 2013 has been unconstitutional. The Controller of Budget has publicly told Parliament that Article 221 of the Constitution, which mandates transparency in both revenue estimates and expenditures, has been violated,” Wambua pointed out on behalf of Gen Z activists.

The activists highlighted that both current and previous governments have borrowed loans unconstitutionally, causing unbearable economic and financial hardship for more than 90 per cent of Kenyans.

Consequently, they want the National Treasury to immediately publish and publicise the debt register with full disclosure of all loan documents borrowed since 2013, including loan agreements, Parliamentary approvals and lenders.