Photo courtesy of The Economist

The Kenya Forum reviews how international new sources are covering the ongoing protests here in Kenya…

Kenya is appearing in the international news media in a volume not seen since the annulment of the 2017 election. The reason? The ongoing protests in the country. (If you didn’t guess that you probably need to check your Wifi connection…)

At The Kenya Forum we looked at how serious international sources of commentary are covering events: the UK based Financial Times and The Economist, the US-based Soufan Group and The Conversation, which prides itself on ‘academic rigour, journalistic flair’. Obviously there are many other reliable international publications and channels, but those are the ones we read routinely.

All the coverage has the same core elements: the violence (numbers killed, injured, detained and abducted/missing feature prominently); the ‘trigger’ of the Finance Bill, against a background of a spiralling national debt around $80 billion, which over 30% of Kenya’s GDP goes to servicing; the mis-steps of President Ruto and security forces on one side and an angry and motivated, well educated but idle youth population on the other; and wider context of a debt problem that is not solely of president Ruto’s making, but also his predecessor and international lenders.

Interestingly, all coverage sees a way out of the crisis for both President Ruto and Kenya, but only if genuine engagement with the population occurs and if corruption, a lack of transparency and the flaunting of the elite’s wealth are addressed decisively. They all also remind readers of Kenya’s less democratic history and President Ruto’s chequered past.

The Economist’s coverage, unsurprisingly, focuses on the economic roots of the crisis and the measures required to rectify the situation. It also adds significant local flavour – Ruto’s Kiswahili nickname, ‘Zakayo’, is linked to the original Biblical parable of Zacchaeus the tax-collector, and harambees are identified as a prime example of the aforementioned corruption and conspicuous consumption. (‘Look – we know Kenya’ The Economist seems to be saying.) The former anti-corruption Tsar and the protagonist of Michaela Wrong’s ‘It’s Our Turn to Eat’, John Githongo, is quoted (since international readers might recognise him from the book). So too are a number of anonymous but uniformly despairing Kenyan MPs.

The Financial Times is equally interested in the numbers but also the sudden shift in international opinion around President Ruto (noting that it was only in May that he was feted in Washington DC). It quotes a placard from one of the protests – ‘We ain’t IMF bitches’ – but notes China’s role in levying usurious debt repayments on projects that haven’t really helped Kenya (roads, the Nairobi-Mombasa railway). It sees a warning in Kenya for other African nations such as Nigeria.

The Soufan Group also see similarities between the respective economic problems in Nigeria and Kenya and, link the Financial Times, sees Kenya’s current problems in the context of a world economy still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and experiencing ripple effects on the global supply chain caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It too sees China as a villain lurking in the shadows, even while the IMF is front and centre for most of the protestors.

The Conversation takes a different angle, not just quoting a local source but providing a lengthy interview with John Mukum Mbaku. Like Soufan Group, it isn’t paywalled and is well worth a read, especially for its depth of understanding of why what has happened, as well as its discussion of the legal and constitutional courses available to President Ruto (and his opponents). It also goes into more detail than the others about how the current situation might be resolved to Kenya’s long term benefit – let’s hope someone in Statehouse reads it.

Ultimately this is Kenya’s problem to resolve and we understand that some elements of the Kenya Forum readership may, quite reasonably, resent distanced and what might seem like ill-informed or lacking-in-nuance coverage. But it is worth noting that each sees a way out for Kenya and, if he reads the situation right, President Ruto. And all of them view Kenya as a keystone country on the African continent that can’t be allowed to falter.

Sources:

The Economist – Kenya’s deadly Gen-Z protests could change the country (PAYWALL)

The Financial Times – Kenya’s populist president has misread the popular mood (PAYWALL)

The Soufan Center – Kenyan Protests Escalate Amid Violence, While Nigeria Faces Similar Economic Turmoil (FREE TO ACCESS)

The Conversation – Kenya’s president dissolved cabinet after popular protests: economist maps out his limited options (FREE TO ACCESS)