Tirelessly, Kenya is putting up the biggest resistance in its young history, despite the country’s High Court ordering the military to “restore order” in the latest move. Reports state that on Wednesday there were mass arrests, hundreds of injured, and kidnappings of protesters by authorities, in addition to the soaring 26+ death toll.
The leaderless movement is acutely aware and, on social media, widely discussing the parallels with the 2022 uprising in Sri Lanka, where thousands stormed the presidential palace amid rising living costs and ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The EU’s Josep Borrell issued a statement saying: “President Ruto’s recent decision to withdraw the Finance Bill will help to reduce tensions and should help to create an environment conducive to dialog.”
In sharp contrast, the Communist Party of Kenya, among those at the forefront of the protests, issued a statement saying “tyranny can only be defeated through resistance, not negotiation.”
Booker Ngesa Omole, a member of the organization said, “The President of Kenya is a man that is captured by US imperialism. In fact he is captured by the ruling class in the US and its western allies. That is why he has made several tours to the US to pay homage. That is why he has forced Kenya to the list of shame which are the non-NATO allies of the US. That is why in a record two years, he has been able to hand over the entire Manda Island in Lamu for US paramilitary training. In less than two years in office, he has built the most massive military base in the Kenyan north for the US.”
He further stated, “basically, in preparation that when the US forces leave West Africa, they will find a home here in Kenya to threaten our sovereignty and our independence. And our message has been clear from the beginning of the protest: that the Finance Bill is just a spark. Our courageous, our heroic act must be to fight a fight of life and death; to free ourselves from the shackles of neo-colonialism and to finish our independence as soon as possible.”