TikTok and Twitter Fuel Kenya’s Anti-Finance Bill Movement
The Finance Bill protests in Kenya, known by the slogan “Reject Finance Bill,” have ignited widespread decentralized demonstrations in response to the government’s proposal to increase taxes.
These protests have garnered significant international attention due to clashes between police and demonstrators and the notable involvement of younger generations. The movement is described as leaderless and decentralized, primarily driven by social media activity.
WNM conducted an in-depth investigation of the online environment to understand the social media dynamics and organization of the protests among participants and supporters. Protesters predominantly used TikTok and Twitter to coordinate efforts and spread messages. Content circulated widely across both platforms, gaining considerable attention. WNM’s research focused on TikTok and X (Twitter) content, analyzing their agendas and sentiments to determine spreading patterns, attention, and reactions, and its significance for the development of various movements online.
Protest’s Slogans and Hashtags
Protesters, proudly identifying as “Gen Z,” highlight the crucial role of Kenya’s youth in these demonstrations. The term Gen Z and its derivatives are among the most recognized protest slogans. A pervasive sentiment is that President Ruto aligns with Western interests, particularly following America’s lead, adding an anti-Western dimension to the protests.
Videos with the hashtag #RutoMustGo appeared on TikTok long before the protests began. The hashtag #RejectFinanceBill gained popularity during the week of June 20, 2024, trending alongside #FinanceBillKenya2024, #OccupyParliament, #KenyaTikTok, #MaandamanoOnFinanceBill2024, and #GenZ. Most videos appeared on TikTok during this week, featuring thousands of people on the streets, dancing, and using the song “Reject the Bill” by Sir Newson, who later released “Gen Z Power,” although it didn’t gain as much attention as the previous song.
Videos using Sir Newson’s song “Reject the Bill” are widespread, with more than 34,000 videos utilizing this sound. The original video featuring the song has garnered over 431,000 views.
Screenshot of the usage and a coverage for Sir Newson’s song “Reject the Bill”
Some influencers used the hashtag to promote unrelated content, indicating the movement’s and protest events’ importance to society and the media environment. Notably, content under the hashtag ranged from financial institution topics to entertainment, with contributors posting videos of themselves among the crowds.
Another trending sound is a TikTok edit of Julius Malema’s speech, where he says, “No one is going to tell me what to do at what time, I’m in charge.” This sound was used in 23.5K videos, with a notable increase in protest-related videos and the hashtag #RejectFinanceBill after June 19th.
Screenshot of a TikTok video uploaded by a TikTok user with “Reject Finance Bill” in their username with the description “POV [Point of view – term used in TikTok to give a context setting to the visual material]: Me to my parents trying to stop me from going to the protest (translated from Swahili).” The video gathered almost 50,000 likes. Editing by WNM.
In the comment section for this video users shared their personal experience about communicating with the family, namely their parents, about participating in the protests.
Comments sharing the personal opinion on the issue. Swahili translation: “sa shida ni” – “the problem is”, “hawajui nimeskip” – “they don’t know I skipped”.
TikTok user posted a video with the description “From a baddie to an activist” posing with a teargas canister. Editing by WNM
Picture of a protester carrying the same tear gas canister as one shown in the TikTok video. (Source: Sabc News)
TikTok Dynamics and the Younger Generation
TikTok plays a significant role in these protests, as the younger generation primarily uses it to receive and spread information. According to several demographic sources, more than half of TikTok users are under 30. TikTok is known for creating trends, often involving users replicating specific dances or agendas from original videos, typically using the same sound.
The Kenyan protests have created their own trends, which users follow and also adapted alread yexisting trends. One such trend is GRWM (Get Ready With Me) videos, where users prepare outfits or accessories for an event. Users started using this trend to show off their looks for the protests. Interestingly, the person filming these videos doesn’t need to be in Kenya or actively participate in the protests.
For example, a video posted with the description “Too bad I’m not in Kenya” shows a girl posing with a bottle of water, wearing a bonnet to protect her hair, glasses, and a face mask, likely to shield herself from tear gas. This video and others, especially those utilizing ‘POV [Point of View],’ highlight the cultural and online phenomenon of the protests, with even those not part of the protests replicating the initial content.
Screenshot of a video uploaded to TikTok depicting a girl that is preparing an outfit for protests in Kenya. She indicated in her video that she is not even there.
This video, however, unrelated to Kenyan protests accumulated the topic in comment section
Screenshot of the video uploaded to TikTok showing how to treat and avoid harmful consequences of the tear gas exposure. (Source: TikTok)
Comments mentioning Kenya under the tear gas protection video.
X (Twitter) Dynamic
Content on Twitter is more political and contains more real propositions than entertainment content. There are more text-based posts, with fewer videos and memes. Issues addressed include the actions of the Kenyan president and government, narratives causing misunderstanding and disagreement among participants, the violence of the protests, and the call for no retreat and no surrender.
#OccupyJKIA
JKIA stands for Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, that is international airport in Nairobi, the capital and the largest city in Kenya. The calls for the occupation of the major roads and transportation means have been around the topic for weeks:
And this exact case allowed us to track the whole process of the protest idea creation, its development and, finally, realization.
Stage 1. Brainstorm of Ideas.
People from different accounts are spreading the message of what, they think should be the most successful tactics of the protest.
This post was published on July 18 and accumulated almost 15,000 thousand views within one day. The text in Swahili is saying: “#occupyJKIA will be the end of Ruto. If we do that in 3 days things will change completely. JKIA is the weak point”. (Source: X) #occupyJKIA has been a popular hashtag on X during couple of weeks now. It’s trending together with #DrainTheSwamp and #RutoMustGo.
With the decentralized nature of the protest arrangement and the content spreading, the sporadic calls to action on the social media are hard to say to be efficient and effective. However, some of the accounts with the bigger audience tend to attract more of the public attention and other interested accounts. Related posts contented a lot of ideas about the protests, the goals of the protest and the further actions. Users would just dump the ideas and then hope they would be supported by masses.
This style of a picture has already been noticed on Twitter. This message calls on occupying national parks together with the airport. The post appeared on the social network on July 11th.
The accounts are using anonymous submissions and then repost the ideas on the protests. Twitter threads often turn into brainstorming places with different propositions and suggestions for actions.
Stage 2. Attempts to call for more specific day and date:
There were several attempts like this. Once the date is decided, the major influencers on the topic are expected to notify their audience. X (Twitter) has become on of the most powerful platform for political discussions, regarding the Kenyan issue, the influencers were hosting audio chats
Screenshot of a X Space with content creators on Kenyan protests discussing the possibility of occupying the Jomo Kenyatta Airport.
Stage 3. Day of the event.
When 23rd July came, WNM team was closely monitoring the movements and the social media dynamics on the protest to get the idea what exactly is happening with the proposed agenda and how people respond to what had been scheduled and arranged.
A lot of video, photos and opinion comments were shared on Twitter. Users were posting videos from the JKIA airport, different parts of Nairobi and specifically from CBD, where the protest got its active development.
Personal Impact and Broader Context
Protesters have shared personal experiences about communicating with their families, particularly their parents, about participating in the protests. These stories making the protests more personal for the participants and allow them to share more content on the subject. A TikTok user shared that their generation was traumatized by the 2007 post-election violence, and they now find themselves in another significant conflict.
Other content included comparison between the prominent freedom fighters in Africa and the prominent participants of the protests nowadays.
The protesters express concerns about where the tax money is going, believing that it is lining the pockets of those running the country rather than improving it. They feel the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. There is also a sense that President Ruto is trying to manipulate the situation by sending the bill back to the government, which could still become law.
Overall, the Finance Bill protests in Kenya highlight the power of social media in organizing and amplifying grassroots movements, particularly among the younger generation.
International Impact
After the announcement of the airport occupation march on 23rd July, it was noticed that the users from other African countries, namely Uganda, started leaving comments under the posts with the call to follow the example of Kenya.
More posts with more specific actions started appearing on X (Twitter).
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