William Ruto's humbling over Kenya Finance Bill shows power of Gen Z

The events that led William Ruto to abandon his budget might in time be seen as a milestone moment.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUK General ElectionUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersKenyan president's humbling shows power of African youth2 days agoBy Stewart Maclean, BBC Africa bureau chief, NairobiShareShutterstockYouth-led protests forced William Ruto to withdraw unpopular tax proposalsThe events that led William Ruto to abandon his budget might in time be seen as a milestone moment - not only for Kenya’s president but also for the power of youth on the world’s youngest continent.

Through the potency of protest, organised largely organically, a movement initiated by young people on social media has forced one of Africa’s most internationally regarded leaders to junk his flagship policy.

It is not that Mr Ruto now realises he had been wrong to push for the tax hikes which caused so much anger across Kenya. In fact he began his address to the nation on Wednesday with a robust and detailed explanation of exactly why he believed they were needed.

His government, he said, had made the tough choices necessary to stabilise the economy and to help ease Kenya out of a debt trap which forces it to spend 61 cents of every tax dollar on repaying its loans.

The finance bill was essential, he claimed, to "redeem our country from the discomfort of debt and assert our sovereignty".

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck77g7v2dwyo

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