By Patricia Mollyne Mataga
Political activist Boniface Mwangi has sensationally claimed that the government is mulling shutting down the internet.
Mwangi who has been a key mobilizer in the ongoing anti-government protests claims a plan to shut down the internet is aimed at crippling online communication.
The activist made the claim in a post on his verified X handle on Thursday, June 20, 2024, a day hundreds of youths across the country took to the streets for the second round of the protests.
In addition, Mwangi noted that the government was monitoring all communication for Kenyans, especially the youth.
However, he pointed out that the Kenya Kwanza administration is finding it hard to contain the protests being orchestrated by mostly the youth who have been described as Gen Zs.
“Zakayo is considering switching off the internet. Techies, how do we keep on communicating? They’re likely monitoring open lines, and we can’t communicate directly,” Mwangi said in part of the post.
“He doesn’t know how to deal with young people in the streets because there is no one or even 20 people he can call to bribe,” he added.
The protests are aimed at pushing the government to drop the 2024 Finance Bill which is currently being debated in the National Assembly.
Those pushing for the anti-government protests insist the bill must be withdrawn in totality. They have also dismissed several amendments introduced by the state after the initial uproar.
On Monday, the chairperson of the National Assembly Finance Committee Kuria Kimani listed at least 10 areas that had been amended – among them dropping the planned introduction of the motor vehicle tax and 16 per cent VAT on bread.
Thursday protests were spread across several key towns among them President William Ruto’s backyard – Eldoret, Nakuru and Kisumu.
In Eldoret, hundreds of protesters marched through the streets holding placards and twigs. At some point, they destroyed a wheelbarrow that had been mounted on one of the streets during the 2022 general election campaigns.