Bulletins and News Discussion from August 26th to September 1st, 2024 - Ruto Must Go - COTW: Kenya

Image is from this Black Agenda Report article by the Communist Party of Kenya.

In June, large anti-government protests shook Kenya. President Ruto and his parliament were attempting to pass the new Finance Bill 2024, which, among other things, would have hiked taxes on the population, with a 16% sales tax on bread and a 25% duty on cooking oil, as well as new taxes on financial transanctions and vehicle ownership. There would also have been levies on women's sanitary products and digital goods such as phones, among other measures affecting hospitals.

Hundreds of protestors stormed the parliament building and began to tear the place apart. Shortly afterwards, on June 26th, Ruto announced that he was withdrawing the bill, calling the tens of deaths and hundreds of injuries "unfortunate". A couple weeks later, Ruto then fired his entire cabinet (aside from his foreign minister) and communicated his wish to the nation to form a "broad-based government". Funnily enough, in July, it was announced that the majority of positions were to be filled by members of the old cabinet, while other positions were taken by members of the opposition. This has prompted scepticism among the population, including calls to resign, but there haven't (yet) been any major anti-government events to pressure this outcome. The Communist Party of Kenya has been working to get some of their comrades back after they were abducted by the police during the protest period, and have otherwise supported the protests against Ruto.

The measures in the bill were strongly encouraged by the IMF. Kenya's debt is currently around $80 billion, of which about 10% is owed to China for infrastructure projects (such as a railway linking the capital, Nairobi, to the port city of Mombasa, as well as 11,000 kilometers of road throughout the country). The rest is owed to a combination of the US, IMF, World Bank, and Saudi Arabia. More than half of government revenue is going towards repaying the debt - but despite these massive payments, it has only grown. The most recent round of IMF plundering (and the impetus for current events) began in 2021, when they offered a 38-month programme to "help" Kenya, which would involve the usual warfare on the poor and the dismemberment of any useful societal institutions.

The COTW (Country of the Week) label is designed to spur discussion and debate about a specific country every week in order to help the community gain greater understanding of the domestic situation of often-understudied nations. If you've wanted to talk about the country or share your experiences, but have never found a relevant place to do so, now is your chance! However, don't worry - this is still a general news megathread where you can post about ongoing events from any country.

The Country of the Week is Kenya! Feel free to chime in with books, essays, longform articles, even stories and anecdotes or rants. More detail here.

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UN has halted operations in Gaza
Each of the 3 refugee camps in the West Bank that are primary targets for the Isnotreali military, including one in Jenin are also at population densities of 50,000-70,000/km² each.
(Prediction) Ramallah, being just 60 kilometers south of Jenin, also hosts a South African embassy that is still very much active with South African officials there obviously. Should the Diaper military reach it, the embassy is going to be a prime target, with the Nelson Mandela Square also serving as symbolism in more ways than one. peepeepoopooreal has already spilled South African blood before and prepared to kidnap/assassinate Nelson Mandela's grandson (who's also a sitting member of the NA), so it's not far-fetched that the first post-Apartheid heads of state could be killed. South Africa has also already considered the first "threats to national security" in 30 years.
I wonder what is the likelihood of South Africa being officially declared an "enemy of the West" because Shitrael says so and the iridescent flag considered a "hate symbol".
Also lol, lmao even at that one time Isnotreal called South Africa's so-called-hegemony a credible threat as they were banned from the African Union almost 3 years ago.
If I get arrested for waving the South African flag, I'll frame the citation on my wall when I move back to Johannesburg after getting out of jail.
- This is why
  
  And yet the UN, who literally employs an armed peacekeeping force with assault rifles and MRAPs for situations like these, has cold feet in deploying them.
  South Africa has openly suggested to deploy the SANDF and for other countries to deploy their respective armed forces, in addition to the UN peacekeeping force to guard humanitarian missions. The latter would not draw the severe implications that deploying a country's military might.
  Death to AmeriKKKa, Death to isnotreal
- Even 50k/km^2 would make these basically the most densely populated place on earth. "Israel" is monstrous

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