Reparations for the people of Kenya, not debt!

Workers World is in full solidarity with the people of Kenya, who have been carrying out a popular rebellion for almost a week. They are protesting a bill passed by the parliament to raise taxes on basic necessities of life, such as food, gas, health care and education. Kenyans are demanding a cut in spending, not higher taxes.   Thousands of people took to the streets in a “7 Days of Rage” beginning on June 25 following anti-austerity protests the week before after police killed dozens of unarmed protesters, with hundreds more wounded. Parts of the parliament building were torched. Nairobi, Kenya protest, June 27, 2024. What ignited this uprising? The answer is the growing debt crisis imposed by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank on Kenya and the rest of Africa.  Former colonies and now developing countries such as Kenya pay a steep price for billions of dollars in loans, which supposedly pay for building infrastructure but in reality extort high interest payments that cannot be paid back even over many lifetimes.   In order to just cover the interest payments, local governments are compelled to impose devastating tax increases or price hikes on the masses, who struggle on a...