In June 2024, a finance bill that proposed new taxes on cooking oil, bread and other basic goods triggered protests unlike anything Kenya had seen in decades. Young Kenyans, organised through social media rather than political parties, marched in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and dozens of other towns. On 25 June, protesters breached the gates of Parliament. Security forces fired live rounds, killing at least 22 people. Ruto withdrew the finance bill and dismissed several cabinet ministers. A generation raised on TikTok and Twitter had demonstrated they could move a government.