The hashtag #RejectFinanceBill2024 has become the most used on X (formerly Twitter) in Kenya, surpassing 4 million tweets in less than a month of online activism.
This digital activism has escalated into street protests in Nairobi, quickly spreading nationwide, with many Kenyans opposing the contentious bill, widely considered punitive. By Tuesday, June 25, at least 300 people, mostly youths, had been injured in the protests, which had entered their second week, and at least seven people had been killed in the demonstrations.
Around 2 PM on the same day, 195 MPs voted to pass the Finance Bill 2024, while 106 voted against it. The bill now awaits President William Ruto’s decision to either sign it into law or suspend it.
At 9 PM on Tuesday, President Ruto addressed the nation, condemning the protesters who had invaded Parliament, vandalized it, and destroyed property of unknown value. He announced that security measures had been put in place to prevent any similar “treasonous events” from occurring again.
This incident marks the first time in Kenya’s history since independence in 1963 that the National Assembly’s security has been breached and Parliament buildings have been invaded.
