As It Happens7:03Kenyan protesters ‘willing to do whatever it takes,’ says activist
When Sophie Mugure Njehia took to the streets of Nairobi on Wednesday, she didn’t expect anyone to die.
Njehia was among the thousands of people who demonstrated across Kenya on Wednesday to mourn the more than 60 people killed during a massive anti-government protest one year ago.
“In my naivety, I thought today would be such a peaceful day because we were just commemorating those who died last year,” Njehia told As It Happens host Nil Kӧksal.
“But today just turned into a protest, because the police could just not let us be.”
Much like last year, Wednesday’s protests saw heavily armed officers battling young demonstrators in the streets of Nairobi and across the country. The death count is not yet clear, but rights group Amnesty Kenya reports that 16 people were killed as of Wednesday evening — most of them by police.
Kenyan police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga declined to comment on the reported deaths.
Tear gas, water cannons and live ammunition
Amnesty Kenya’s executive director Irungu Houghton told Reuters its tally has been verified by the global rights watchdog and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR). At least five of the victims were shot dead, he said.
Earlier in the day, the government-funded KNCHR reported eight deaths across the country, all “allegedly from gunshot wounds.”
The watchdog said there were more than 400 casualties in total, and noted a heavy police deployment and “allegations of excessive use of force, including rubber bullets, live ammunition and water cannons, resulting in numerous injuries.”
Njehia, who streaked her face with toothpaste to neutralize the effects of tear gas, says she saw police deploy the gas against demonstrators, along with rubber bullets, live ammunition and water cannons.
“I saw a young group of people who are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that their future is bright, and to ensure that our nation is properly governed,” said Njehia, 29, a member of the protest group Revolutionary Gen-Z Movement.
“On the other side, I saw a government that is afraid of the youth of its country. I saw a government that was not willing to listen to the young people. And I have seen a government willing to kill us.”
Anti-tax protests become something bigger
What began last year as an uprising against proposed tax hikes on an already impoverished population have since morphed into a broad movement against corruption, the rising cost of living and state violence.
And that movement, Njehia says, is youth-led.
“Our biggest motivation now is our lack of hope, is our disillusionment, is our lack of jobs, is the fact that our potential to be great is going down the drain,” said Njehia.
The median age in Kenya is 19, and nearly 40 per cent of the population lives in poverty, according to government figures.
“We’re willing to risk a lot because this government has proven to us that they are not afraid of killing us,” Njehia said. “And if they don’t kill us physically, then they kill our hope and they kill our dreams.”
Last year’s protests subsided after a less than a week, when Kenyan President William Ruto withdrew his proposed tax hikes.
But public anger has only intensified over those killed in the June 2024 clashes, as well as other deaths and unexplained disappearances that followed.
“We are fighting for the rights of our fellow youths and Kenyans and the people who died since June 25,” said Lumumba Harmony, a protester in Nairobi.
Protester Derrick Mwangi said the youth of Kenya are “fed up.
“People are being abducted, people are being killed,” he said. “The police have started using force which is very bad at this rate.”
Most recently, protesters have rallied in the name of Albert Ojwang, a 31-year-old blogger and teacher who died in police custody earlier this month.
Six people, including three police officers, were charged with his murder on Tuesday. All have pleaded not guilty.
“Had we not gone to the street on Monday of 11th of June, they would have covered up that death,” Njehia said. “So in Kenya, nothing has changed.”
President pleas for calm, government shuts down TV news
Ruto on Wednesday urged protesters not to “destroy” the country.
“We do not have another country to go to when things go wrong. It is our responsibility to keep our country safe,” he said while attending a burial in coastal Kenya as protesters charged towards his Nairobi office.
The Communications Authority of Kenya ordered local media to stop airing live broadcasts of the demonstration.
Kenyan channels NTV and KTN were temporarily pulled off the air for defying the order, but reassumed broadcasting after a court deemed it unconstitutional.
“It just proves that the government is doing something wrong, and that is why they don’t want the masses to see what they’re doing,” Njehia said.
She called on the international community to support the protesters.
“Things are not getting any better. In fact, things are getting worse. And we need help,” she said.
“Those in the international justice system, they need to come and help us or else we will die, all of us.”
With files from Reuters and The Associated Press. Interview with Sophie Mugure Njehia produced by Cassie Argao