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Kenyan Youth Embrace Bitcoin Amid Deadly Protests Against Finance Bill
Kenyan Bitcoiner Protests Against Controversial 2024 Finance Bill
Felix Mukungu
On Tuesday, June 25, thousands of people took to the streets of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, to protest against the controversial finance bill recently passed by the Kenyan Parliament.
What began as a demonstration of Kenyans’ legitimate grievances against the bill’s across-the-board tax increases soon saw the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) called in after President Ruto’s address to the nation on the need to restore “normalcy” in a context he described as “Violence and anarchy” left more than 300 injured and at least 20 dead in shootings involving police, according to the Amnesty International report. Kenya section.
Amid the chaos, Bitcoin
Bitcoin
Awareness among young people is also growing. As a Kenyan Bitcoiner and Machankura Team member Noelyne Sumba said: “The decentralized nature of Bitcoin offers a level of financial freedom that is becoming increasingly attractive to Kenyan youth. »
A Kenyan Bitcoiner shows a Bitcoin poster amid a protest led by young Kenyans against the controversial finance… [+] bill 2024
Felix Mukungu
Kenya’s controversial 2024 funding bill
Currently, Kenya’s public debt stands at 68% of its GDP, which is higher than the IMF and World Bank recommendation of 55%. As part of a set of reforms and strategies aimed at aligning with the fiscal reforms agreed with the IMF in 2021 to significantly reduce Kenya’s reliance on borrowing, the Kenyan government has increased borrowing rates. taxation and levies. The most ambitious attempt was formalized in the now infamous Finance Bill 2024/25.
The bill, first proposed in May this year, aimed to generate about $2.3 billion in revenue to help cover the country’s budget deficit. Moreover, beyond reducing the budget deficit by increasing revenue collection, the bill aimed to reduce public spending.
Additionally, the bill introduced numerous tax proposals, including a 1.5% digital tax on local online platforms whose services include employment, rental, food delivery and ride-hailing services (although subject to parliamentary approval), a value added tax (VAT) on electric bicycles. , buses and solar and lithium-ion batteries, at 16% VAT on ordinary bread, sugarcane transport, financial services and foreign exchange operations.
On June 13, Kenyan youth began organizing on social media to make their voices heard under the hashtag #RejectFinanceBill2024, first on TikTok and then on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter). The goal was to get Parliament to vote no on the bill, but this was seen as ineffective, and the strategy quickly shifted to taking to the streets in a peaceful protest planned for June 18.
According to Noelyne, following her interview with Bitcoin Magazine“The passage of the Finance Bill will likely reduce the already low standard of living of Kenya’s 56 million citizens. This bill continues a trend of taking advantage of the future of the country’s youth through excessive borrowing “This continued borrowing has led to a debt-to-GDP ratio of 67% as of 2023, which will continue to have a significant impact on economic stability and growth.”
In addition to the tax rates introduced in the bill, this bill would set greater precedents; as Noelyne points out, “the government is threatening privacy and data security by proposing that the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) access personal data without consent. » Adding that “this decision could potentially lead to tyrannical government profiling and misuse of private information. »
The protests and the passage of the bill by the Kenyan Parliament
Following the largely peaceful protest on June 18, Kenyan police arrested more than 230 protesters, who were later released thanks to pressure from young people on social media. On June 19, the Kenyan parliament’s budget committee decided to cancel some controversial amendments to the bill, such as the 16% VAT on bread. Yet many Kenyans believe this is not enough.
On June 20, the bill passed second reading in the Kenyan parliament by 204 votes to 115, sparking the protest that had begun earlier in anticipation of the vote. The protests reached a boiling point on June 20 when demonstrators entered the Kenyan parliament building, escalating further after part of the building was set on fire, including heavy police fire in an attempt to crowd control. On June 26, according to the Kenya Medical Association, more than 13 people had been killed the day before.
Despite these reports and the nationwide internet outage that occurred earlier in the day, protesters were unfazed and continued to make their voices heard.
These efforts finally bore fruit, as earlier today at 7 p.m. Kenya local time, President Ruto recognized the voice of the people in a speech, declaring that he would not sign the 2024 Finance Bill into law. , as the people had announced.
Bitcoin as hope for Kenya and its youth
As Noelyne pointed out when asked what young people think about Bitcoin’s role in all this: “Many young Kenyans see Bitcoin as a way to escape restrictive monetary policies imposed by international financial institutions, which have contributed to the country’s economic challenges. » that “integrating Bitcoin into the financial system could reduce reliance on external debt and provide an escape from oppressive government policies that hinder economic and individual growth.”
It is important to emphasize that Bitcoin provides economic freedom to individuals and nation states. To this end, many African Bitcoiners believe that African countries can only escape decades of entrenched economic slavery by realizing this and taking Bitcoin more seriously.
While Kenya is already making progress in developing renewable energy via bitcoin miningIt is only a matter of time before governments across Africa realize that Bitcoin can significantly alleviate many of its economic and infrastructural challenges and is a more viable alternative to their current approaches.