Kenya struggling years after protests

ROADSIDE vendor and mother-of-five Christine Naswa bemoaned the state of the Kenyan economy as she hawked vegetables by one of Nairobi’s busiest thoroughfares.

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“The economy is very poor right now. There is no money in Kenya,” Naswa, 40, said as the smell of sliced ginger she was hawking powered through bus fumes.

“I do not manage to even feed my children, the (costs of) living are high and my profit is low. There are some days when I do not get anything,” she said.

The east African nation is an economic bright spot in a troubled region, but still faces huge challenges and is coming off a difficult year.

Roughly 40% of Kenyans live in poverty, and are increasingly fed up with soaring living costs, a limited job market and depressingly regular corruption scandals.

The discontent exploded into deadly protests in June last year, with new taxes in President William Ruto’s finance bill the catalyst.