It is Thursday evening and we are sitting with a few youths who had for the second time in a week taken to the streets to protest the proposed taxation measures contained in the Finance Bill 2024.
The meeting first escalates and we have to order more bottles of beer at the current price, because probably the next time we will be buying the same, prices will have changed as the government moves to review taxation on alcoholic drinks.
As the conversation goes on, I get interested and seek to know what is pushing Generation Z (Gen Zs) to the streets.
Jokingly one lady, Cynthia Oluoch tells me: “Sisi Gen Zs kitu tunaogopa ni slow internet na battery low,” (Which loosely translates to what we fear most is slow internet and phone shutting down on battery low."
We laugh it off then get a bit serious with the discussions. She tells me that the push to attend the demonstrations was so intense that she had to contravene her mother’s warning to attend the protest.
She is among the youthful demonstrators, popularly referred to as Gen Zs - in reference to the term generally used to describe those born during the late 1990s and early 2000s - who showed up in huge numbers, vowing to ensure that their discontent did not end with just a hashtag or meme (imitation).
At the Nairobi Central Business District, Friday morning, we meet 24-year-old Fredrick Mumo, another youth who feels that they have been excluded in decision-making over the past years.
I meet him along Tom Mboya Street where everything has cooled and all that can make you understand the magnitude of what had happened the previous day is the smell of teargas, which is still hugging the air.
"From the proposals, there is none that I can say will benefit the young generation. In fact, they are taxing us even for using the internet," says Mumo.
They have brought in a new wave of Kenyan youth protests that is shaking up the status quo, challenging unpopular tax proposals, and making headlines.
Armed with smartphones, protesters live-stream their clashes with police during the "Occupy Parliament" demonstrations, turning social media into a mobilisation tool.
On Tuesday, hundreds of trainer-wearing protesters, who feel Kenyans are already overtaxed with little to show for it, braved tear gas lobbed by police to march through the capital, Nairobi, bringing the city's CBD to a standstill.
The protests also spread to other other major towns including Mombasa and Edlroet.
The protesters have changed tact and have been threatening to boycott products and companies associated with the legislators who voted to pass the Finance Bill.
This came just a day after an online altercation over a US trip by one of Kenya’s top influencers turned ugly after a heated debate over the bill.
Kenyans on the social platforms threatened to boycott the product that the individual influenced, prompting an official apology from the personality.
So what exactly is the power of these Gen Z demonstrations and their impact to compel policy direction?
The Dean, School of Applied Human Sciences at Daystar University, Dr. Kennedy Ong’aro, downplays the long-term impact of the boycotts.
“The boycotts have failed in the past because some of these products are what we use daily. We can boycott for one or two days but after four days, we will get back to consuming them. What is lacking among this generation is leadership and a clear direction,” says the lecturer.
“Some of them are not financially independent to follow up on such,” he notes. Initial political attempts to boycott products in the country failed.
Ong’aro who has been handling youths as a sociology lecturer for the last 24 years, says that the current push may not yield much because of a lack of leadership and a clear roadmap that offers solutions, should the bill be shot down.
“Change is gradual and that’s what this generation seems not to understand. A majority are only protesting to disassociate from their parents and be seen as liberal. The current youths need serious discussion and mentorship,” added Ong’aro.
Kenya's online community has not been new to controversy. Three months ago, the social media platform TikTok demonstrated its economic prowess when users in Kenya raised Sh10 million in just two hours to accord a popular user a 'decent' sendoff.
Ong’aro however blames the government’s economic advisers over the lack of a clear structure to explain to Kenyans how their taxes will be used to grow the economy.
“The government over-promised Kenyans and the young generation was expecting more from the bottom-up economy. Now when they see taxes being raised, they feel a sense of betrayal,” says the lecturer.
Javoga Ilavonga, who is studying generational behavior change among young people, wants the government to be extra cautious and seek a desirable balance.
A lot of political leaders, mostly those in support of the bill have accused social media platforms of influencing "bad manners" amongst young people.
Addressing Parliament on Wednesday, National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah said the Bill will create jobs for the youth and future generations.
"I want to speak to the young people who are in the streets, the young people who have been mobilising colleges and universities around our country to send members messages of rejecting the Finance Bill," he said.
"This Finance Bill is about protecting yourself and our children. It is about creating jobs for you as our children. It is about ensuring that the future of our economy is secure," said Ichung’wah.
He said the future generation will only be secured if the manufacturing sector is nurtured now, among other interventions in key sectors of the economy, including agriculture, where the government is pushing for value addition.
According to Ichung’wah, the Bill is a game changer because it addresses loopholes in the country.
Despite continuous skepticism from notable government leaders, the youths are showing up in significant numbers as the anti-Finance Bill protests across the country are set to continue this week, as the Bill goes into its third reading and later the Presidential assent.
The country has previously seen a call by political leaders to boycott products associated with their opponents, where some companies have suffered losses.