In an opinion piece for the Washington Post, the writer noted that the anti-government and anti-corruption demonstrations that began in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, last June are still ongoing, and may spread to other countries such as Nigeria, and their impact has already been felt in Uganda.
According to Keith Richburg, the former Washington Post bureau chief in Nairobi, young people in Uganda, inspired by the Kenyan demonstrations, organized anti-corruption protests on July 23 in Kampala, the capital, and security forces quickly and forcefully suppressed the demonstrations, arresting more than 100 protesters.
The writer confirmed that the youth protests in Kenya have begun to spread to other countries on the continent, and it is expected that demonstrations inspired by the Kenyan protests will erupt in Nigeria.
The writer said that the demonstrators in Kenya and abroad are from the youth segment – the millennial generation or Generation Z – and pointed out that African and Western governments must pay attention to the demands of this segment, especially since more than half of Kenya’s population – and 60% of the continent’s population – is under the age of 25.
Protests began in Kenya over a proposal that would have raised taxes to an unbearable level, according to the writer, and demonstrators attacked The parliament building was attacked and part of it was burned, and the homes of the representatives were besieged. The government responded with unprecedented ferocity, which led to the killing of dozens and the kidnapping of many demonstrators from the streets and from their homes.
Although the president withdrew the tax bill and dismissed most of his government, protests continue under the slogan “Ruto must go.”
Kenyan protests and the West
The Kenyan protests came after a promising start to the year, with President William Ruto Last May at a lavish dinner party in White House It is the first for an African president in 16 years, and the US President announced Joe Biden Kenya is a “key ally outside NATOThe World Bank expressed,International Monetary Fund About their optimism about the country’s economic future.
Ruto, according to the author, became the United States’ favorite African leader, at a time when South Africa adopted an anti-Western and pro-Russian foreign policy, Niger placed its democratically elected president under house arrest after a coup, and other countries imposed harsh laws against homosexuals.
But the writer says that most Kenyans describe the political system as corrupt, and President Ruto is a smart politician who is good at talking to attract support from the West, but he is unpopular in his country.
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Kenyans have expressed anger at international institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as well as the United States, for supporting the president, saying the country suffers from poverty, unemployment and poor infrastructure.
