OPINION: Social Media Achieved More Than Expected in Kenya Anti-Tax Protests

No structure yet successful, no leader yet triumphant – that’s what the recent anti-tax protests in Kenya, also dubbed ‘Gen Z protests’, have been seen to be. 

The question that lingers is: can the success or sheer scale of these protests be attributed to social media? What role did social media play in rallying young people to occupy Parliament and get the President not to sign the Finance Bill 2024? Can we draw parallels between these protests and the Arab Spring solely based on social media involvement? Is social media being credited more than the ‘street’, or vice versa? 

This debate can go both ways, but the undeniable role of social media in these protests cannot be overlooked.

RAISING AWARENESS AND SPARKING DISCONTENT

TikTok was the single greatest influencer of the #RejectFinanceBill2024 conversation, with videos reaching over 500 million views. 

According to Nendo – a digital research agency based in Nairobi, Kenya – the youth, particularly the age group that makes up the “Gen Z” generation and have mastered the platform, led the charge to raise awareness about the Bill. 

Users dissected its contents, breaking them down for their followers and translating them into local dialects such as Dholuo, Ekegusii, Kikuyu, Bukusu, Maragoli, and Taita among others. Complementing this was the infusion of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to simplify and explain the bill’s clauses innovatively. 

Finance Bill GPT, an AI tool created by Kelvin Onkundi, from popular AI chatbot ChatGPT to help Kenyans understand the contentious Finance Bill 2024 engaged over 10,000 users.

As awareness grew, so did the discontent over the Bill’s controversial provisions, fuelling anger and momentum. On X (formerly Twitter) the top anti-finance bill conversations were driven by #RejectFinanceBill2024, #OccupyParliament, and #RutoMustGo tags, which had over 25 million mentions between June 12 and July 1 2024, according to Nendo. 

The topics that sparked the most outrage, considering the sentiment analysis that qualifies the emotions in the social media posts, included vernacular translations of the impact, clauses, corruption allegations, and frustration with the political class. As the Bill went through parliamentary readings and was passed, and as reports of abductions of content creators flew around, the groundswell of negative conversation peaked – with the highest peak in conversations being Tuesday, June 25, when some of the protesters stormed Kenya’s parliament buildings.

DISSEMINATING RAGE AND MOBILISING ACTION

Social media channels became the primary tools for disseminating this rage and calling for action. X, for example, while providing a platform for political discourse, hosted the conversations that were used for analysis and brainstorming sessions – all of which can be argued to have played a part in fuelling the rage.

It is through platforms like X Spaces that the topic momentum was shifted whenever reality on the ‘ground’ shifted, e.g., #RejectNotAmend when parliamentarians noted they would amend contentious clauses of the bill.

Calls for better governance were amplified, with hashtags such as #OccupyStatehouse or #RutoMustGo gaining momentum after the bill was dropped. The hashtags made it easy for people to track updates related to the movement.

Additionally, key influencers on this platform seized the moment to announce their support for the protests, which significantly extended the movement’s reach and added credibility. Protest organisers and participants also utilised X for real-time updates, sharing live information on protest plans, active locations, and progress of the protests, thereby keeping participants informed and motivated.

Despite some detractors arguing that social media’s role was overstated, it undeniably provided a platform for generating dialogue, expanding camaraderie, and unifying thought and purpose. It emboldened users, transforming passive observers into active participants. Phrases like “the fear is gone” and “we will be there no matter what” served to strengthen resolve.

IMPACT OF TIKTOK, X, OTHER PLATFORMS

From the analysis, TikTok’s influence was unmatched. Users, especially influencers, posted their original content regarding the bill here, and only exported them to other platforms. X and other ‘old guard platforms’ like Facebook and LinkedIn, dominated by older users, amplified the message to a broader, maturer audience. 

This phenomenon can be explained by today’s social media usage trends in Kenya. 

According to the 2024 digital trends report, TikTok had 10.60 million users aged 18 and above in Kenya in early 2024, compared to X’s 1.87 million users. TikTok came second only to WhatsApp in usage, with 70.2% of social media users aged 16-64 engaging with the platform each month. This is followed by Facebook (68.5%), Instagram (67.8%), and X (56.8%). Telegram, which on the protest day saw a surge when X was seen to have been stifled by the government, had 43.8%, and LinkedIn lagged at 32%.

An interesting angle to this entire conversation is the aspect of social proof – not just being an online supporter, but an offline/realtime protestor which perhaps generated more on-ground participation. Influential users had to live up to the expectations of their followers who would demand social proof of their involvement ‘on the ground’. It could be seen that on protest days, these influencers shared real-time clips of themselves demonstrating, being tear-gassed, and carrying placards. This visibility was crucial as it showed their genuine belief in the protests and the necessity of rejecting the finance bill. Conversely, influencers who seemed to support the bill faced cancellation. 

THE DARK SIDE

The detriments of social media were also evident, with misinformation spreading rapidly. Unconfirmed reports of massacres and inflated death tolls circulated before being debunked – a case in point being the reported police activity in the Githurai area of Nairobi. 

At the same time, sharing personal information of parliamentarians and law enforcement officers led to unintended harm. In the wake of reports of politically motivated abductions, it is understood that some law enforcement agencies used social media to locate and arrest influential users, actions widely condemned as state abductions.

REAL-TIME COMMUNICATION AND PROTECTION

When the anti-finance bill demonstrations took a frightening turn with reports of the use of live bullets by the police, leading to the death of young protesters, social media also played a protective role by broadcasting live scenes, sharing footage of police brutality, and preventing officers from acting with what is considered as impunity. 

However, some users seized this moment to gain monetary value through platforms like TikTok, where live streams attracted gifts from viewers. However, through it all, the youth maintained a sense of community and unity, and this was also seen through online campaigns to call for justice and bring those who are missing home. 

Supporters came together to raise over Ksh.14 million through M-Changa Africa. The crowdfunding platform said that the funds would be used to cover medical bills, rehabilitation costs, and other needs arising from the demonstrations.

This blend of real-time communication, community building, and transparent fundraising demonstrated the transformative potential of digital activism, illustrating how everyday technology can power significant social change. 

Despite the challenges and drawbacks, the role of social media in these protests was undeniable, proving that in today's digital age, the voice of the people can be amplified like never before.

So, did social media achieve more than what it set out to do in the Kenya anti-tax protests? The answer seems to be a resounding yes. 

The movement did not just mobilise masses; it created a new paradigm of civic engagement – Mark Kaigwa, the founder & CEO of Nendo, calls it a new ‘Political Constituency’ – transcending traditional boundaries of activism. The anti-tax protesters occupied Parliament and led to the withdrawal of the Finance Bill, both products of the most popular hashtags of the week. 

The ability of social media to raise awareness, generate real-time discourse, and mobilise action on such a large scale indicates that its role was not just instrumental but transformational. You can call it ‘from Tweets to Streets’.

The author is a Strategic Public Relations and Communication Specialist, and a doctorate researcher in development communications.

The author, William Dekker, is a Strategic Public Relations and Communication Specialist. He is a doctorate researcher in development communications.