Seme warned that any government seen to be relying on opaque conditional loans would face relentless protests. “We are not ready as a population to support another regime that will go back, banking on hopes of being given money by the IMF under unclear conditions … We are not with you, protests will always be here,” he added.

Salim Mghanga, a local resident, accused successive administrations of borrowing and then siphoning funds offshore. “They borrow money from these institutions, then they steal it, take it back to London and Switzerland, leaving the people wallowing in poverty,” he said.

Fadhili Owino, another Nairobi resident, described international lenders as “business-oriented” and argued their programmes ignore the livelihoods of ordinary people. “IMF & World Bank don’t understand the reality of the situation in Kenya… They only give out loans because they are business-oriented,” he said, adding calls for greater self-reliance. “Africa is the richest continent in the world, yet it is the poorest in the world… We should exploit our mineral resources for the benefit of our people.”