In Kenya, the failure of the IMF’s economic policies is also being played out.
Despite the withdrawal of unpopular measures and an address to the Kenyan people that was intended to be calming by President William Ruto, the scale of the protests and the anti-tax revolt, led mostly by the country’s youth, has not diminished. The African country has been experiencing violent protests for two weeks triggered by the 2024-2025 budget project providing for new taxes on an already drained economy and population.
According to The Star, On July 2, demonstrations took place again in Mombasa, Kenya’s second city. Peaceful at first, they ended up degenerating. For its part, Al-Jazeera noted that police fired tear gas and water cannons at protesters across Kenya. According to the pan-Arab headline, In the capital, Nairobi, riot police even charged protesters. Rallies of several hundred people were also held in other cities across the country.
Everything therefore seems to indicate that President William Ruto has not succeeded in calming the protest movement led by young people, despite abandoning the tax increase project which triggered these unrest, analyses the Qatari site.
“Kenya is not the IMF’s lab rat”
The country’s press, and more broadly the African press, is now questioning the deep roots of Kenyan anger. “The recent Kenyan protests are a warning of the failure of the International Monetary Fund (IMF),” thus affirms an editorial from Star. A statement visibly shared by the Kenyans, since Voice of America reports that the protesters held up placards stating: “Kenya is not the IMF’s lab rat.”
In fact, the international financial institution had ac
