In response to an attempt by Kenya’s government to tax basic goods, a youth uprising has emerged that shows no signs of ending soon. Anti-imperialist youth internationally can strengthen the movement by showing solidarity with the protests and putting forward demands against the IMF and U.S. imperialism.
Samuel Karlin
July 1, 2024
LEFT VOICE
Brian Inganga - Associated Press
Youth in Kenya are rising up in the face of extreme repression. Mass protests began spreading rapidly in response to President William Ruto’s attempt to pass a tax bill. The bill would have raised taxes on household essentials including sugar and cooking oil in compliance with austerity measures that the government is trying to implement in order to receive a loan from the predatory International Monetary Fund (IMF). In response, young Kenyans, proudly identifying as “Generation Z,” have organized a mass movement online. For now, this uprising is developing independently of Kenya’s traditional parties and institutions which would benefit from co-opting the movement out of the streets.
While Ruto’s tax bill incited the current uprising, the situation has escalated quickly due to the misery that youth in Kenya have been experiencing for years. According to the Federation of Kenya Employers, youth (classified by FKE as ages 15-34 years old) make up 35 percent of the country’s total population but 67 percent of the country’s unemployed. Exacerbating the economic situation, Kenya’s foreign and domestic debt make up 70 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. This has all contributed to a feeling among the large youth population that there are few prospects for their futures, and many struggle day to day.
It is no wonder then that Ruto’s attempt to address the country’s illegitimate imperialist debts by raising taxes on basic goods ended up being so explosive. Further fueling the youth’s anger was the government’s brutal response. The first protests, which included an occupation of parliament, were met with police firing tear gas and live bullets. Dozens of young people were massacred, and doctors and journalists were also attacked by the police. This, of course, further angered the youth and strengthened support for the protests from older generations and wider sectors of Kenyan society.
As outrage began to spread, Ruto sought to quell the uprising by promising to pull the tax bill, but young people have continued to protest, with many saying on social media that this was just a stalling tactic. There is widespread sentiment among young people online that the struggle needs to stay in the streets, and they are calling for Ruto to resign. Some sectors of the movement are even putting forward the demand that all members of parliament be recalled. In an attempt to fight against co-optation of the movement, some are calling for the occupation of churches to prevent capitalist politicians from speaking to large numbers of people.
Along with using influential institutions such as churches to try to co-opt the struggle in the streets, and promising “reforms,” the Kenyan state is resorting to severe measures to violently crush the protests. There have been reports of people being disappeared off the street, and police continue to use live ammunition. Snipers have also been deployed against the protesters.
With how rapidly and dynamically the protests and repression in Kenya are developing, people around the world should follow and amplify the struggle of the youth who are bravely rising up. It is especially relevant for anti-imperialists in the United States to follow the situation, because the U.S. government has recently been courting Kenya as a special partner for imperialist domination of Africa. Just two days before the protests began, President Joe Biden designated Kenya as a major non-NATO ally. President Ruto also visited the United States in May of this year, making him the first African head of state to be received by Washington with a formal state visit in more than 15 years. If U.S. imperialism is looking to Kenya as a strategic ally to maintain its dominance of Africa, the anti-imperialist youth in the United States, which has emerged in response to the genocide in Gaza, must see solidarity with the uprising in Kenya as strategic. If the Generation Z movement can maintain itself and unite with the country’s workers who have strategic power to withhold their labor that produces Kenya’s economy, this struggle could deal a powerful blow to the IMF by making it impossible for the state to implement austerity measures.
In solidarity with the uprising in Kenya, all young people around the world should amplify the protests taking place. We must also highlight the violent role of the IMF which makes oppressed countries from Kenya to Argentina suffer by forcing them to pay off illegitimate foreign debts. A victory for the movement in Kenya against the IMF could show the whole world that imperialism can be weakened, even in countries that have strategic relationships with the United States. Let the youth in Kenya inspire resistance to imperialism across the world.
LEFT VOICE
Brian Inganga - Associated PressYouth in Kenya are rising up in the face of extreme repression. Mass protests began spreading rapidly in response to President William Ruto’s attempt to pass a tax bill. The bill would have raised taxes on household essentials including sugar and cooking oil in compliance with austerity measures that the government is trying to implement in order to receive a loan from the predatory International Monetary Fund (IMF). In response, young Kenyans, proudly identifying as “Generation Z,” have organized a mass movement online. For now, this uprising is developing independently of Kenya’s traditional parties and institutions which would benefit from co-opting the movement out of the streets.
While Ruto’s tax bill incited the current uprising, the situation has escalated quickly due to the misery that youth in Kenya have been experiencing for years. According to the Federation of Kenya Employers, youth (classified by FKE as ages 15-34 years old) make up 35 percent of the country’s total population but 67 percent of the country’s unemployed. Exacerbating the economic situation, Kenya’s foreign and domestic debt make up 70 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. This has all contributed to a feeling among the large youth population that there are few prospects for their futures, and many struggle day to day.
It is no wonder then that Ruto’s attempt to address the country’s illegitimate imperialist debts by raising taxes on basic goods ended up being so explosive. Further fueling the youth’s anger was the government’s brutal response. The first protests, which included an occupation of parliament, were met with police firing tear gas and live bullets. Dozens of young people were massacred, and doctors and journalists were also attacked by the police. This, of course, further angered the youth and strengthened support for the protests from older generations and wider sectors of Kenyan society.
As outrage began to spread, Ruto sought to quell the uprising by promising to pull the tax bill, but young people have continued to protest, with many saying on social media that this was just a stalling tactic. There is widespread sentiment among young people online that the struggle needs to stay in the streets, and they are calling for Ruto to resign. Some sectors of the movement are even putting forward the demand that all members of parliament be recalled. In an attempt to fight against co-optation of the movement, some are calling for the occupation of churches to prevent capitalist politicians from speaking to large numbers of people.
Along with using influential institutions such as churches to try to co-opt the struggle in the streets, and promising “reforms,” the Kenyan state is resorting to severe measures to violently crush the protests. There have been reports of people being disappeared off the street, and police continue to use live ammunition. Snipers have also been deployed against the protesters.
With how rapidly and dynamically the protests and repression in Kenya are developing, people around the world should follow and amplify the struggle of the youth who are bravely rising up. It is especially relevant for anti-imperialists in the United States to follow the situation, because the U.S. government has recently been courting Kenya as a special partner for imperialist domination of Africa. Just two days before the protests began, President Joe Biden designated Kenya as a major non-NATO ally. President Ruto also visited the United States in May of this year, making him the first African head of state to be received by Washington with a formal state visit in more than 15 years. If U.S. imperialism is looking to Kenya as a strategic ally to maintain its dominance of Africa, the anti-imperialist youth in the United States, which has emerged in response to the genocide in Gaza, must see solidarity with the uprising in Kenya as strategic. If the Generation Z movement can maintain itself and unite with the country’s workers who have strategic power to withhold their labor that produces Kenya’s economy, this struggle could deal a powerful blow to the IMF by making it impossible for the state to implement austerity measures.
In solidarity with the uprising in Kenya, all young people around the world should amplify the protests taking place. We must also highlight the violent role of the IMF which makes oppressed countries from Kenya to Argentina suffer by forcing them to pay off illegitimate foreign debts. A victory for the movement in Kenya against the IMF could show the whole world that imperialism can be weakened, even in countries that have strategic relationships with the United States. Let the youth in Kenya inspire resistance to imperialism across the world.
Samuel Karlin is a socialist with a background in journalism. He mainly writes for Left Voice about U.S. imperialism and international class struggle.
No comments:
Post a Comment