Rising Debt and Taxes Spark Youth Protests in Kenya, Activists Say

Kenya's growing debt, increasing taxes, and worsening economic conditions are making young people frustrated. Activists and human rights experts say the government is limiting the ability for citizens to protest and hold it accountable.

They shared these views on Thursday in Nairobi, during a panel at the sixth African Conference on Debt and Development. The conference was organised by the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development.

Amnesty International organised the session. It featured David Ngira from Amnesty International, Juliet Wanjiru and Brian Omondi from the Social Justice Centre, Annet Nerima from the Kenya Human Rights Commission, and Riva Jalipa from Amnesty International.

They linked the anger behind the youth protests in 2024 to rising living costs, unemployment, taxes, poor public services, and corruption. "As they pay taxes, they're asking what is in it for us? What are we getting out of it?" they said.

They explained that the pressure on the government to collect money and pay off its debt has led to tax measures that hurt households already facing high living costs. They noted that money needed for debt repayments competes with spending on healthcare, education, and social protection. Corruption, illegal financial flows, and poor management of borrowed money continue to hurt public finances.

Many citizens are questioning if the taxes they pay are resulting in better services. The panelists said frustration boiled over in 2024 when thousands of Kenyans, mostly young people, protested against proposed tax increases, high living costs, unemployment, and corruption.

Although the government later withdrew the Finance Bill 2024, the panelists said the issues that brought people out to protest are still there. They warned against looking at the protests as simply opposition to the Finance Bill.

They stressed that community-based human rights groups have campaigned for years on police brutality, rising prices, poor public services, and other social justice issues. But the protests in 2024 brought many of those concerns together and got more young Kenyans involved in political action.

The government's reaction to the protests has become a big part of the human rights discussion. Activists raised alarms about killings, abductions, and other forms of repression tied to the protests. They said these incidents have made it harder for people to trust the government.

They mentioned that economic and social rights cannot be separated from civil and political freedoms because people need to speak, organise, and protest when government policies affect their lives. Kenya's 2010 Constitution guarantees economic and social rights, but issues like unemployment, high living costs, and poor public services are still a challenge.

The panelists also questioned how effective public participation is in government decisions. They noted that citizens often get asked to give their opinions on policies and budgets but are left confused about how their input affects the final decisions.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission and other civil society groups have recorded killings, disappearances, and abductions linked to protests. They said that just protesting will not bring the political changes young Kenyans want.

The panelists encouraged young people to build stronger political and community groups to keep them involved in decision-making between elections. Grassroots organisations are already working on this, including community-based methods for accountability and justice where formal institutions have been slow to react to rights violations.

Amnesty International plans to release research on this issue in October. The panelists called for better transparency in public borrowing, stronger investigations and prosecutions for corruption, and better systems to track borrowed money. They said that money lost to corruption and illegal financial flows could help reduce Kenya's need to borrow and improve essential public services.