Why Young Kenyans are Protesting the IMF

One thing this video didn't address, a key driver for the protest is the anger at politicians who are corrupt, openly flaunting their wealth after looting the country and talking down ordinary citizens when they said they can't afford a larger tax burden

No Kenyan is against paying taxes. We're against mismanagement of the countries resources. Imagine a president taking a $1.5 million private jet to the US l, turns around and tell the nation to live within their means! The audacity!!!

it should not go unmentioned that Ruto spent $1.5m on a private jet to the USA, while his daughter drives a 2024 model Bentley Bentayga, in the face of 'austerity'.

As a Kenyan, the bill is not the whole story. We are also protesting against the large scale looting by Ruto and his cronies. People are dying in underfunded hospitals and every sector in the economy is getting plundered. Meanwhile, Ruto and his cronies buy luxury watches and cars worth tens of thousands of dollars and diverting public money to their offshore accounts. He has made unconstitutional offices and put his friends to loot Kenyans. It is estimated that more than 40% of public funds are stolen. Without theft, the country's finances would be fixed very quickly. Kenyans are also angry that the army was mobilized unconstitutionally against unarmed Kenyans. The police opened fired and have killed tens and injured hundreds including children and women. A mother closing her vegetable stall for the day was shot and killed. She was not even protesting. Stand with Kenya!

I am from Kenya, More than 20 people died during the protests, A rumored 100-200+ people were then massacred that night in Githurai, Nairobi They are lying about the statistics, many many died all with bullet hole Its very sad here🥲

I'm a Kenyan(edit: I am in the diaspora. I don't live in the country anymore). This video is true, but there are some innacuracies. Thank you for the video though for shining a light on the video Firstly, the subsidies were implemented months before the election in August of 2022 by Uhuru. Secondly, a lot of these loans come from Uhuru, such as the one by the IMF and even the Eurobond. Odinga has only been in 4 parties, and has stayed in ODM for 20 years. A lot of parties have stayed together. People are not joining parties now, but they are joining coalitions. Kenyans are also aware of the situation our government has put us in. We just want to know where the government is putting the money. There's a lot of corruption, and there is a lot of money spent on renovating houses, increasing mp salaries and a general misuse of public funds as well as creating unconstitutional offices. That's one of the reasons a lot of people are protesting. Thank you for the video. EDIT: Slight clarification. People are joining parties who then join coalitions, so switching parties is a thing now, but parties are not the end all, such as in the days of KANU. It's coalitions now. This has been the case since Kibaki became President. Also, when I say Kenyans are aware of the situation, we are saying a lot of us, if we trusted the government, would support some of these taxes. But we know this government is very corrupt, and the taxes are also going to make this situation very worse. Furthermore, I am in the diaspora, so I just want to mention that. I don't live in the country.

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Doesn't matter whether you take loans from IMF or China. It's how the loan is spent. And so long as corruption rules, Kenyans will continue to be impoverished.

corruption and wastage is the main issue, Kenyans would pay the tax without any issue if they saw where the money was going. For example, Ruto has an office of the spouse and other made up posts which are unconstitutional, then he has the audacity to tell us to tighten our belts..

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

The question should be why aren’t the whole world protesting the IMF

Don't fall for the vehicle ownership tax. We (here in México) got that tax as a temporary meassure... in 1968. Once a tax is created it never goes away.

Kenyan Here: The main trigger was the careless spending and waste of public resources, a few months before the protests close allies of Ruto's openly flaunted millions in cash on social media.

The reason why it is bad for Kenya to have 70% debt/GDP ratio and it is okay for Italy to have 140% is because lenders have more confidence in developed countries and thus charging smaller interest than for developing countries

As Kenyan,I never thought I would see my country on this channel

The main reason for the protests is not just the over taxation... but mainly the utilisation of said taxes, this guy and his cabinet pocket almost all the cash the country collects

Genuinely. Has anyone ever said they like the IMF?

but youre not addressing the fact that the proposed bill was in favor of the government officials pockets rather than what you guys are talking about "repaying debts"

Kenyan here: The debt isn't the biggest issue here, it is the theft. The previous regime (where the current president was the deputy) made Kenya among the first African countries to get in on the Chinese loans frenzy. These loans were heavily misused and or stolen, they would over-quote for projects, take out loans at inflated prices, do the projects at a fraction of the costs and pocket the difference. When Ruto became president in 2022, the Chinese gravy train had ended and it was all about paying them back. So they looked to the west and the IMF who come with a lot of restrictions unlike the Chinese. There is absolutely no need for the country to be taking loans, only for it to end up with them stealing and spending on fat salaries. Kenyans are now tired of the corruption cycle that has made politics a career path for the old and illiterate to come earn pensions and clean ill-gotten wealth.

Hey, I have always trusted this channel and thought y'all did some good research before posting. As a Kenyan, I can tell there are a lot of inaccuracies even of just historical information that is readily available. So that worries about research into information that is not readily available. For example, Kenya was a one Party State only up until 1992.