The Year 2024 in Review: A Revolutionary Time in Kenyan History
The year 2024 can be described as a year of dynamism that brought revolutionary change in socio-political, economic and even physical environment in Kenya. From crippling natural disasters to political measures changes and society activism and other struggles and transformational phenomena the country went through the test.
Natural Disasters and the Killer Floods
Kenya was hit by the biggest floods in April 2024 that affected the whole country leaving destruction. Severe floods compelled more than 110000 people to abandon their homes, many houses were washed away, and there were many fatalities. Nairobi informal settlements were among the stricken zones, where the people found themselves huddled on roofs
The Mai Mahiu case brought into perspective the just how severe it can be when water channels are blocked resulting to major flooding that claimed 61 lives. In May the death toll rose to 257, thousands injured and thousands displaced from their homes. Nevertheless, the government was criticized for the poor emergency aid, deficiency of action in disaster prevention and control.
The floods interrupted learning and resulted in education emergencies including damage to education infrastructure, impacting more than 150 schools leading institutions to provide learners affected with fees-waiver. The situation was eased through contribution of Ksh. 2 billion by the UAE but Kenyan citizens did not forgive the government for mishandling of the tragedy.
Finance Bill 2024: A Nation in Uproar
The just introduced Finance Bill 2024 drew a lot of negative public reactions and protests. The Bill that was geared at increasing taxes was regarded as exploitative specifically under a crunch economizing situation. Agriculture, telecommunication, and manufacturing industries expressed some of the concerns arising from adopting it.
The protests referred to as “Occupy Parliament” were initiated in June by a social media group led by gen Z members. Nevertheless, the Bill went through its second reading in parliament thereby eliciting nation-wide protest.
More of the protests were carried on June 25 when some protesters were killed by security forces around the Parliament premises. Sustaining the pressure, President William Ruto declined to endorse the Bill into law but rather sought public opinion. Finally, in July, Parliament threw out the Bill completely, but the bitter memory of the protests framed the nation’s psyche.
A Nation Wakes Up: Church and Civil Society Stands
Protests that followed by introduction of Finance bill pointed to a campaign in the country for accountability and integrity in governance. As churches started opening up leadership, religious heads began terming civil disobedience against poor leadership as acceptable.
for example the Catholic Church among others declined to accept monetary contributions from politicians as a sign of change in the role of the state in relation to religious organizations. It highlighted increasing public interest and concern for ethical leadership, professional and corporate governance in public activities.
School and Health: The right to strike
Education and healthcare workers went on protracted strike in the year because of delayed remunerations and unpaid or unbired demands. Hatred strikes as teachers walked out and doctors stayed away from schools and hospitals across the nation.
University lecturers also went on strike, pointing at embezzlement of funds in public universities. Due to some of the financial problems Moi University was almost closed and supplemented with embezzlement claims.
Healthcare Overhaul: The Unpleasant Change to Taifa Care
In October, the National Health Insurance Fund changed to Social Health Insurance Fund, now referred to as Taifa Care. It was undertaken with the objective of increasing availability of quality health services but was plagued with implementation problems as well as controversy.
Patients on dialysis for example, suffered terrible fates since the hospitals did not accept the NHIF cards but instead demanded cash. Nevertheless, the government was confident in Taifa Care’s capacity to revitalize the healthcare sector at the same time that the process was in shambles.
The Gen Z Movement and a Call for Change
The protests demonstrating against Finance Bill were actually part of bigger transitional trend in Kenya’s civic space. People of Gen Z raised up, taking the social networks as the megaphones to make their concern and demand change heard. This paved way to change and their activism disrupted the old-fashioned practice of powers-that-be that advocated for the improvement of governance for the marginalized.
A Year of Learning and Perseverance
2024 will be named as the year of challenging and transformational changes in human life. Disasters, including fires, floods, and conflicts, as well as social uprisings challenging for Kenya and encouraging development of effective governance and leadership.