SUNJIR0In May, action began online primarily led by Gen Z through the hashtag #RejectFinanceBill2024 calling for people to contact their MPs to vote against the bill.
https://theconversation.com/kenya-protests-gen-z-shows-the-power-of-digital-activism-driving-change-from-screens-to-the-streets-233065
When this proved ineffective, people began calls to #OccupyParliament, marking the move to in-person protests starting on June 18th. This protest faced police resistance with tear gas and arrests, sparking outcry. Subsequent protests led to amendments to the bill but were met with more police violence, provoking calls for strikes and further protests across Kenya and the hashtag #RejectNotAmend.
https://www.financialfortunemedia.com/the-rise-of-africas-gen-zs-from-tiktok-x-to-the-streets/
Since the protests began, the police and Kenyan military have killed dozens (though the exact number is unclear), this combined with increased scrutiny of the president’s role in the austerity measures and (past and present) violence against civilians have led to the outcry that even if the bill is shelved, #RutoMustGo.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/27/kenya-protesters-call-for-president-rutos-removal-after-tax-bill-dropped
Before kicking off in person, the protests started online on TikTok, Instagram, and X. When the protests made their way offline, protesters distributed posters with organizing information, documentation of police brutality, and opportunities for mutual aid through these platforms.
https://theconversation.com/kenya-protests-gen-z-shows-the-power-of-digital-activism-driving-change-from-screens-to-the-streets-233065
As outcry was building around the bill, developer Kenyan developer Kelvin Onkundi created a GPT (like a specialized instance of ChatGPT) trained on the contents of the bill to help answer any questions citizens might have.
https://theconversation.com/kenya-protests-gen-z-shows-the-power-of-digital-activism-driving-change-from-screens-to-the-streets-233065
https://chatgpt.com/g/g-JBq7D0E5x-finance-bill-gpt
Kenyan politicians had their personal and business phone numbers leaked. Digital activists compiled these numbers and shared them across socials. One MP reported that they received over 30,000 texts as a result.
https://theconversation.com/kenya-protests-gen-z-shows-the-power-of-digital-activism-driving-change-from-screens-to-the-streets-233065
When Safaricom began throttling the internet causing region-wide connection issues, activists immediately began sourcing eSIMs from international telcom providers to ensure people could remain connected.
https://mastodon.social/@netblocks/112683046719533144
https://www.instagram.com/p/C8piBRpKllMR6FaX7JH1NKlA_6uCiDdBwo4xSc0/?img_index=1
Not only did the bill increase taxes for many physical goods, there were proposed tax hikes for digital goods and services, for use of data and mobile money transfers, and the erosion of the data protection act that would’ve allowed the KRA to access any citizen’s financial accounts.
https://chatgpt.com/g/g-JBq7D0E5x-finance-bill-gpt
Kenyan police and military have been making unlawful arrests and abducting people, primarily highly visible activists with large followings on social media.
https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/national/article/2001497817/concern-as-gabriel-oguda-more-influencers-allegedly-abducted-ahead-of-demos
Despite assurances from the government that there would be uninterrupted internet, on June 25th, there was a major disruption to internet connectivity throughout East Africa, with Kenya facing the greatest impact. Safaricom claimed that this was due to a undersea cables, but the internet freedom watchdog Netblocks has not found any evidence to support this claim.
https://mastodon.social/@netblocks/112683046719533144
https://nation.africa/kenya/news/kenyans-experience-interrupted-and-slow-internet-connections--4669366
https://techcabal.com/2024/06/27/safaricom-internet-outage-kenya/
