Generation Z come together in push to reject tax law

Protests over the controversial Finance Bill spread across the country with thousands taking to the streets of major towns to voice opposition to the proposed taxes.

The protests, hitherto confined to Nairobi and Mombasa spilled over to Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisumu, Nyeri, Kakamega, Kericho, Kisii, Kilifi, Embu, Garissa and Bungoma, mainly spearheaded by tech savvy Generation Z youth.

In Garissa for instance, President William Ruto’s motorcade ran into hostile crowds of protests as it made its way to the Garissa University for a function while in Nakuru, protestors attempted to storm the local State House but were repulsed by armed General Service Unit (GSU) personnel.

 In Nairobi, the protests turned ugly after police blocked the protesters from storming Parliament Buildings.

The initially calm protests turned violent after police started lobbing teargas canisters and firing live round of ammunition at the youthful protesters.

Scores were injured in the ensuing chaos that also left two police officers injured and their vehicle damaged along Kenyatta Avenue.

Ambulances could be seen ferrying the injured to various hospitals across the city with police using water cannons to quell further aggression.

Police had from early morning cordoned off Parliament buildings, diverting motorists and pedestrians alike to other roads.

For the second day in a row, Mombasa’s streets were alive with protests against the controversial Finance Bill.

The protests, which began with a handful of determined individuals at the iconic elephant tusks on Moi Avenue around noon, swelled as the day wore on.

Orchestrated meticulously through social media platforms like WhatsApp, X, and TikTok, the protest mirrored similar movements in other parts of the country.

What began as a modest gathering soon grew into a formidable crowd, joined by members of various Civil Society Organisations.

The protesters, with promises of an impending Gen Z revolution, issued a stern warning to Mombasa’s six MPs, Mishi Mboko (Likoni), Bady Twalib (Jomvu), Rashid Bedzimba (Kisauni), Mohamed Ali (Nyali), Omar Mwinyi (Changamwe) and Mohamed Soud Machele (Mvita).

They demanded an unequivocal rejection of the bill, with the implicit threat that any support for it would be their ticket out of office.

“We are tired of bad governance and it is time we forced a change. This is why we are telling the leaders to reject the Finance Bill. We are Gen Z and we will not stop until change comes,” declared Mwakisha, one of the youth spearheading the Mombasa protests.

In contrast to Wednesday’s protests where police used tear gas to disperse the crowd multiple times, Thursday’s demonstration was notably peaceful.

Not a single canister was lobbed, and the young, dynamic university and college students of the Gen Z cohort showcased extraordinary determination.

Armed with smartphones and data bundles, the protesters crisscrossed the Port City, chanting slogans alongside police who walked with them.

In Nakuru, thousands of youth taunted as Gen Z poured into the streets in protests against the Finance Bill 2024.

Remained peaceful

 Police officers in hundreds from various units including Rapid Deployment (RDU) and General Service Unit (GSU) were deployed to maintain order in the city.

 The youth marched for over five hours paralysing some of the businesses and free flow of traffic but remained peaceful.

 It was however in the afternoon that a group took their protests to Nakuru State House where they hurled stones at GSU officers guarding the critical government installation.

 In President William Ruto’s Eldoret home town, thousands of youths unexpectedly turned up for the protests, disrupting the movement of goods and service in and out of the busy town.

 The protesters among them human rights activists, university and college students matched along the streets chanting “Ruto Must Go” as a team of anti-riot police officers gave them escort.

The angry protesters pulled down UDA party symbols in Eldoret town as the demonstrations against the controversial Finance Bill turned chaotic forcing the law enforcement officers to teargas the rampaging youths.

Sensing danger, scores of traders closed down their business within the town’s CBD in a huff fearing looting of their property worth millions of shillings by thousands of protesting youth.

Also affected by the protest that has so far halted all movements of goods and service in the town are public service vehicle operators plying various routes among them Eldoret-Nakuru, Nairobi and Eldoret-Kisumu Kakamega and Bungoma.

The youth among them college and university students’ action follows a move by the police to chase them from busy Eldoret-Nakuru and Eldoret-Webuye highway where they had staged their protest.

Led by Enock Kipkurui, a student in one of the public universities, the protestors put on notice MPs from the region who will vote in favour

of the Finance Bill 2024.

They asked local MPs led by Oscar Sudi against supporting the bill warning that they will face the wrath of the voters come 2027.

Controversial bill

In Kisumu, hundreds of residents took to the streets to protest against the controversial Finance Bill 2024.

Joining the nationwide anti-Finance Bill demonstrations that kicked off across the country yesterday, the protesters, largely comprising youths drawn from across the county demanded that the Bill be reconsidered.

Led by human rights activist Boniface Akatch, the protesters expressed opposition to the contents of the Bill, while demanding it be rejected in its entirety.

Carrying twigs and placards, they said Kenyans are tied with punitive taxes which have made life unbearable for them.

In Kisii, the protestors donning identical “Gen Z” T-shirts marched along the town’s streets chanting anti-government slogans.

Cyprian Nyakundi, a youth leader implored MPs to remove punitive taxes in the Bill which will hurt poor Kenyans.

In Embu town, hundreds of youths poured onto the streets to protest against the controversial Finance Bill 2024. The demonstrators, in their hundreds, demanded that elected and nominated MPs from the county reject the bill when it comes up for voting.

The protestors, many of them in their late teens and early twenties carried placards with messages such as “Reject the Bill!” and “No to Economic Suffering!”

Esther Mukami, one of the protestors warned the enactment of the bill will plunge the country into unprecedented economic downturn at a time when many of them remain unemployed and reeling from the effects of the high cost of living.

They also fired a salvo at Mbeere North MP Geoffrey Ruku over his threat to sponsor a bill in parliament seeking to have protestors arrested and charged in court.

– Stories by Brian Malila, Winstone Chiseremi, Robert Ochoro, Noven Owiti, Kepher Otieno, Charles Mwangi, Mercy Mwende, Frank Masese, Ian Byron and Reuben Mwambingu