When a video of a young woman went viral telling former Prime Minister Raila Odinga not to join the Finance Bill demonstrations, that it was okay for him to hang up his protest boots, many Kenyans wondered who she was.
In an interview with Lifestyle on Thursday, Anita Barasa, says, she is 17 years old, was born and bred in Kakamega County and that activism is deeply embedded in her DNA.
Anita Barasa during the Anti-Finance Bill demonstrations in Nairobi on June 20, 2024.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
“My dad, now 60 is an activist, he studied in Russia and led protests in 1984 as black students were at the time being racially abused and discriminated while my mother is very supportive and very much concerned about what our future as young people will look like if we don’t fight for it,” she said.
On Monday, she started off her one-minute TikTok video with, "I am children"..., slang to mean she is still relatively young.
Read: Gen Z revolt nation’s awakening
More Kenyans had created videos, reels, and songs on TikTok, X (Twitter) and Instagram with the hashtags #RejectFinanceBill2024, posts that influenced thousands across Kenya to join the protest.
Content creator and activist Anita Barasa during an interview on June 20, 2024 at Nation Centre in Nairobi.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
Part of the protests were triggered by Finance Bill 2024 to expand the coverage of digital content monetisation works for income tax purposes to include creative works and creating or sharing content. A growing number of GenZs earn an income from the creative industry.
Anita, a film student, is one of the content creators. She also co-founded ‘Waagwan Nairobi’, which she describes as an initiative that mobilises the youth to the "latest and coolest events for Gen Zs" as well as using social media for good.
“On Instagram, I have a fan base of about 20,000 followers but I do not use the platform as such, I love TikTok more, where I am very vocal and have over 66,000 followers,” she says.
Digital activism on the Finance Bill 2024, she says, has been a success majorly because Gen Zs are very organised.
“I would like to thank the 8-4-4 system because since high school, we have been taught to be orderly,” she explains.
Anita Barasa (holding placard) with other protesters during the Anti-Finance Bill demonstrations in Nairobi on June 20, 2024.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
“We figured out that no young person has the time to sit down and read a 136-page Bill, we know our generation very well,” she said, adding, "and the Bill is something that should concern all Kenyans."
“There is someone who earns Sh20,000 a month. Have you asked yourself what they go back home with after deducting all the expenses and taxes from President Ruto’s regime? That’s the person I am fighting for,” she adds.
Asked what plans she had for post-protests, she said,“Do you see where I am? At Nation Centre for an interview that would never have happened if I did not take the initiative to do what I did. Why would I then stop being an activist when I am now being invited to platforms to speak up for not only young people but everyone else? I've just gotten started," she said.
If Anita were to meet President William Ruto today, she says, she has a message for him.
“Dear Mr President, I urge you to listen to the young people of this country. We are going to the streets because it matters, we are protesting because you did not involve us, do not jeopardise our future, Your Excellency,” she said.
If and when Parliament passes the Finance Bill 2024, she will not cower, she said.
“We are very much aware that there is a July 1 deadline and know the country cannot run without a budget but it would make me happy if our MPs and President William Ruto choose to listen to us,” she said.
On the video that made her go viral, she said, "I have loved Raila Odinga since the day I was born and when he commented on the video I made urging him to stay home and let us fight for him saying that he is a proud father, I became his daughter."
