TARIF 106: Perilous Tax Protest in Kenya

This past week has been marked by shocks, frustration, and what the Kenyan citizens may term as palpable failure in nation-building. When the protests, dubbed "Occupy Parliament", began on Tuesday the 18th of June, Wycliffe Muia reports that it all looked peaceful. However Anti-tax protesters in Kenya are in shock after a 29-year-old man was killed during the nationwide demonstrations against a new finance bill. Rex Kanyike Masai, who was protesting on Thursday in the centre of Nairobi, died of gunshot wounds, as reported by a doctor from a hospital in the capital, as per a local newspaper. Police fired tear gas and water cannons at largely peaceful protesters near parliament as lawmakers were debating proposals to bring in new taxes.

How should Christians think through this breakdown of the social contract between the Kenyan government and its citizens?