Thursday, 11 July 2024

11am Washington D.C.
2pm Dakar
5pm Paris / Cape Town
6pm Nairobi / Cairo

Kenya’s wave of youth-led protests against the 2024 Finance Bill has sent shockwaves through the country’s political establishment -- and the rest of the continent. The extent of the protests has already forced President William Ruto to 'withdraw' the bill and the crippling tax increases that it contained. More recently, Ruto also pledged to introduce a range of measures to reduce the cost of government and to engage with the International Monetary Fund and other international partners to find an alternative way to respond to the country’s debt crisis.

The government's quick and unprecedented U-turn is rooted in the fact that these protests are unlike any other. The mass movement against the 2024 Finance Bill is distinctive in many ways: it is not led by established opposition leaders, it is explicitly multi-ethnic, and it has been championed and coordinated on social media by a combination of Gen-Z and Millennial citizens. This has made it extremely difficult for officials to respond in the usual way by co-opting and buying off opposition leaders.

The government also found that it was impossible to simply repress the movement due to the bravery of the protestors – 39 of whom have died for their cause – and the excellent job that the media did in covering the human rights abuses committed by Kenyan security forces. Along with the geographical breadth of the protests -- which occurred in urban areas across the country and in some cases targeted MPs and religious leaders as well as state buildings -- this forced a stubborn regime to back down.

Yet talk of a revolutionary moment in Kenyan politics may be premature. None of the concessions so far announced by the Ruto government has changed the fundamental logic of Kenyan politics nor responded to the wider set of issues raised by protestors. While the Finance Bill was the catalyst for the movement, the outpouring of popular frustration was rooted in pervasive government corruption, inequality, and the failure of the political class and financial institutions to put the needs of citizens first. Nothing Ruto has announced, so far, would reduce corruption or fundamentally alter economic realities.

This show will bring together leading activists, journalists, and researchers -- including those on the front lines -- to discuss why the protests emerged, how they are organized, and whether they can achieve transformative change in Kenya and perhaps beyond. Can momentum be sustained to deliver a real revolution? How is it possible to prevent influential figureheads and groups from being co-opted by the government? And what lessons are there for citizens in other African countries on how to hold their own leaders accountable? Join us!

Meet our panel

Moderation