Kenyan Catholic bishops expressed solidarity and support for young people in Kenya who, frustrated by corruption, grinding poverty, and lack of jobs, protested President Ruto’s proposal to raise taxes for making payments on debts to international creditors, and won.
The following article was published in the September-October 2024 issue of NewsNotes.
Kenya’s youth, who successfully spearheaded and actively protested the president’s controversial tax proposal known as Finance Bill 2024 in June, were praised by the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops for their commitment and love for the country to see that social justice is administered to all.
Commonly referred to as Generation Z (“Gen Z”) for their young age, the protesters were lauded as the “hope” of Kenyans in a June 29 statement by the Kenyan Catholic Bishops Conference. The letter was signed by the chairman of the conference, Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba, one day after the protesters’ representatives met with President William Samoei Ruto at State House in Nairobi.
“Your clamor shows your concern for our country, for the lives of others, and for social justice. Our families would be the first beneficiaries of better governance and economy. For this, we wish to encourage you that your aspirations are valid,” the bishops’ statement said, describing the collaboration and unity of the Gen Zers as “beyond tribe or social class, a sign of true care and love.”
They said to Kenya’s youth, “You opposed the Finance Bill with passion because it was going to hurt everyone including yourselves. We thank God it is now in the stage of reversal as it is sent back to Parliament. We believe it will not be enacted.”
Having succeeded in rejecting the Finance Bill 2024, KCCB members say, “we must also commit to working hard to improve our country’s economy. We shall support you where we can, to get worthy employment opportunities, and in your civic pursuit through constructive dialogues amongst yourselves and others in society.”
Kenya’s bishops promised to journey with the young generation to build their dreams and “increase their commitment to good causes.”
The Church leaders further assured Gen Zers that they are ready to listen and that their doors are open for guidance and mentorship. As their statement says, “We desire that each one of you grows to be the best that our God intends for each one of you. Your hopes are our hopes.”
Following the protest that has led to the loss of lives for more than 50 youths and many others injured, the bishops have acknowledged that the young citizens suffered for the good of the country.
“The message of the protests by Gen Z brought many concerns and also tears as we watched many young people suffer. You feel aggrieved and forgotten, and let down in your aspirations,” adding, “Some even feel that the Church may have failed them at times.”
“The concerns raised by Gen Z remain genuine in our eyes,” the bishops said. “We share your cry due to unemployment, lack of school fees for many families, failed promises, and a seemingly bleak future. No doubt the Finance Bill would have brought still more suffering.”
Just days before the protests, Pope Francis announced a campaign for debt relief for the world’s poorest countries during the Jubilee Year 2025.
Proclaiming the Jubilee 2025, Pope Francis appealed to the world’s wealthiest nations to “acknowledge the gravity of so many of their past decisions and determine to forgive the debts of countries that will never be able to repay them.”
“If we really wish to prepare a path to peace in our world, let us commit ourselves to remedying the remote causes of injustice, settling unjust and unpayable debts, and feeding the hungry,” the pope wrote in “Spes non Confundit” (“Hope Does Not Disappoint”), his bull proclaiming the Holy Year.
The United Nations reports that 19 developing countries are spending more on debt interest than on education and 45 are spending more on debt interest than on health. Kenya is one of these countries.
Photo of Maryknoll Father Frank Breen in Kenya with women who work for poverty wages in a sewing factory in the Export Processing Zone in Nairobi, Kenya. "We don't earn enough to pay our monthly bills," one of them said. Photo by Susan Gunn.