In the last 24 hours, disgruntled Kenyans took their protest against a newly proposed finance bill from the streets to the parliament house in Nairobi.
This action prompted a response from security officials who eventually shot at the protesters, killing an estimated 13 people.
A protest which was meant to create a dialogue between the people and the government and subsequently foster a middle ground has escalated to a far more complex situation. Young Kenyans are no longer only calling for the elimination of the bill alone they are now calling for the termination of Ruto’s administration.
Much like the #Endsars movement in Nigeria, 4 years back, the Kenyan finance bill protest which has its roots in social media has now been stretched out via the same social media with the hashtags #RutoMustGo #RutoMustResignNow, amongst others.
Standing as one of the highest trending subjects on X, formerly Twitter, Kenyans have labeled the president the country’s new villain.
Prior to the fatal hostilities by the Kenyan police against the protesters, the president had alleged that the protest had been hijacked by illegal entities.
“Today’s events mark a critical point on how we respond to threats to our peace. We will ensure a situation of this nature does not recur again,” he stated, leaving room for a more complicated problem to germinate.
Ruto’s failure to address the issue swiftly but instead opting to send security forces after the protest had escalated, which in turn led to the death of some protesters, infused demands for him to leave.
While Kenyans are still demanding the bill be terminated they are also demanding that Ruto retire, particularly the young ones.
There are also sentiments swirling around social media, of how the president is a puppet for Western superpowers.
Ruto’s current image is a far cry from what he had been perceived as in 2022, when he won the election. Then, he pledged that his administration will focus on the poor with laudable initiatives like the hustlers scheme, however the hike in tax seems contrary to his original campaign promises.
Up until a few hours ago the Kenyan president opted not to give in to the protestors’ demands by abandoning his budget but has instead pushed back to calm the country, a move which massively backfired.
However, as reported by CNN’s Larry Madowo the Kenyan president has rejected the financial bill and is withdrawing it.
It is still unclear if this would eventually be enough to make the protesters ease up on their demand for his resignation, or if he still has some more damage control to do to rebuff his image, given the fact that withdrawing from the bill 24 hours ago could have saved lives.
