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Reports from Kenya have it that mainly youth-led rallies, which started last week protesting a bill proposing various tax hikes, turned violent on Tuesday as the protesters stormed that country’s parliament and burned part of it.
Consequently, the government ordered the police and the military to quell the violence from the protesters, as a result of which one of the reports says 13 protesters have been killed and over 160 are being treated in hospitals and counting.
Certain issues arising from or associated with the whole tax bill matter need particular attention because of the lessons they have for the Kenyan and other African governments.
One of the issues is that, following the protests, the country’s President, William Ruto, has withdrawn the bill and wants it returned to Parliament for more amendment.
Another big issue is that the government appears to be rubbishing the concerns of the people, as, for example, Ruto vehemently disputes the arguments of the protesters that Kenyans are overtaxed, while he has failed to fulfil his own previously promised commitment to address protesters’ concerns.
On top of this, the government appears peremptory as it does not pay heed to certain pieces of advice regarding the bill.
For instance, condemning the killing of protesters and appealing to the protesters to be cautious, members of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) said, among other things, that they formally raised very serious concerns about the Finance Bill with the government.
But it failed to address some of their important suggestions.
They also called upon the legislators to be guided by their conscience in addressing the bill and the good of Kenyans, but they went ahead to pass the bill into law for Ruto to assent to it.
It is also the case that it was not only the controversial bill that sparked the rallies but a combination of other factors, such as Kenyans becoming exasperated because the government does not take their concerns into consideration.
Imagine that while Kenyans are made to believe that their country is among East Africa’s most dynamic economies, a third of its 52 million population lives in abject poverty.
Then, what is equally worrying is that some media entities allow their outlets to be used to freely trivialize important issues in support of the government.
It is on record that two years ago (2022), Kenyan youth were derided as “disengaged” for failing to register as voters and to turn up for the general election.
Today, the same youth have, to a large extent, chosen a democratic way of participating in governance by demanding accountability, and they are being crushed to death.
The last of the issues we want to raise concerns responses African leaders and their cronies spew out when they are confronted by accountability crises or criticisms.
In a late-night press briefing, Ruto warned that his government would take a tough line against “violence and anarchy and that “it is not in order or even conceivable that criminals pretending to be peaceful protesters can reign terror against the people, their elected representatives, and the institutions established under our constitution and expect to go scot-free.”
Is this a response that can calm nerves?
Do you, as an African politician, see the issues regarding the Kenyan tax bill controversy occurring in your country?
We have raised these issues to plead with African leaders that they should show the needed respect to their people and their views and learn to appropriately make them understand why some views cannot be adopted in the circumstances of the day.
The English say, “The enlightened ruler is heedful, and the good general is full of caution. The scars of others should teach us caution. It is a good thing to learn caution from the misfortunes of others.”
