Kenya’s rising debt, higher taxes and worsening economic conditions are fuelling frustrations among young people, while the government’s response is shrinking the space for citizens to protest and demand accountability, activists and human rights experts have warned.
They spoke on Thursday in Nairobi, Kenya, during a panel discussion at the sixth African Conference on Debt and Development (AfCoDD VI), organised by the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD).
The session, organised by Amnesty International, brought together David Ngira, an economic, social and cultural rights researcher for East and Southern Africa at Amnesty International; Juliet Wanjiru and Brian Omondi of the Social Justice Centre; Annet Nerima, programme manager for Inclusion and Political Justice at the Kenya Human Rights Commission; and Riva Jalipa, Amnesty International’s researcher and adviser on taxation and human rights.
They linked the anger behind Kenya’s 2024 youth-led protests to a combination of rising living costs, unemployment, taxation, 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.
