Kenya's Gen Z risk death to protest economy, police killings

• Kenya's Gen Z angry at police brutality, no jobs
• Protesters want President William Ruto to resign
• Government accuses protesters of mounting a coup

NAIROBI - Banners and bandanas at the ready, young Kenyans faced one final job before taking to the streets last week to mark the death of more than 60 fellow protesters in anti-government demos a year ago.

Write their own eulogies - just in case.

"I didn't care if I died. We have no life as it is. There are no jobs, the cost of living is high, and Kenyans are really struggling," said Wilson, a jobless 19-year-old from Nairobi.

"We have a government that isn't listening to its people."

Wilson was among the many who took to social media to post their own obituaries before masking up and joining thousands marching in Nairobi, fearing police might well open fire again.

They did - and at least 19 died, with hundreds more injured in June 25's commemorations of the deadly anti-tax protests.

"We knew what was at stake. Over the past year, the government has tried to silence us and we have seen how protesters have been killed," Wilson, who did not want to give his surname, told Context.

Wilson used his TikTok farewell to thank his parents for all they had done, explaining how he had no choice but to protest - whatever the cost - in pursuit of a better life for all Kenyans.

Popular anger in the East African nation has been fuelled by increasing frustration with President William Ruto, elected in 2022 after campaigning as a champion of low-income "hustlers".

Despite crafting a reputation as a global statesman, at home Ruto is dubbed 'Zakayo' - a Swahili name for a greedy biblical tax collector - by Kenyans frustrated with rich politicians flaunting their wealth while their own living standards fall.

Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen denied the police had used excessive force last week and instead accused demonstrators of attempting to overthrow the government, dismissing the groundswell as "terrorism disguised as dissent".

But there is little sign the protests will die down, with more already scheduled for next week.

'Same monkeys, different forest'

Last year's protests, led by Gen Z and millennial Kenyans, led to the withdrawal of a controversial finance bill that raised a raft of taxes. They were also followed by a crackdown on people voicing dissent, both in person and online.

It was the crackdown that helped fuel last week's protests with many demonstrators chanting slogans like "Ruto must go" and "End police brutality now" as they marched through Nairobi.

"Nothing has changed in the last year. It's the same monkeys, different forest," said Evans, 30, masked up to protect himself from tear gas.

"We are struggling and hustling everyday. There is no future for young people in this country," he said.

Economists said some lessons had been learnt, with the government pursuing a much more cautious tax stance in this year's finance bill.

It dropped measures including an expansion of PAYE tax and levies on mobile phones, electric buses and solar equipment.

Ruto is under pressure to raise revenues through tax and wants to get debt below 55% of GDP in two years, as recommended by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Legislators also rejected a controversial proposal granting wide-ranging access to personal data, citing privacy concerns.

Jervin Naidoo, political economist at Oxford Economics Africa, said while the new finance measures may bring temporary relief, they fail to address the underlying economic pressures.

"Unemployment is around 13%, with youth unemployment alarmingly high at 67%. Meanwhile, about 85% of employed Kenyans remain in the informal sector, where incomes are low and irregular," Naidoo said in a report published last week.

"Public frustration will likely persist without substantial progress in creating jobs, especially for young people, and in improving real incomes."

Bill to ban protests

The government, however, does not seem to be willing to make concessions to people taking to the streets.

Murkomen said they were trying to enact "regime change", and said police had been forced to hold back crowds who sought to approach parliament and State House, the president's residence.

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki said church leaders, foreign diplomats and opposition politicians had encouraged them.

Members of parliament are now considering draft legislation that would make it illegal to protest near key institutions.

Such measures are unlikely to deter those Kenyans who plan a return to the streets on July 7 to mark pro-democracy protests against former ruler Daniel Arap Moi in 1990.

"It won't be over until this government goes," said 25-year-old student Joy, who did not want to give her surname. "We will be out on the streets again and again. They can't kill us all."

(Reporting by Nita Bhalla; Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths.)