Rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannons, live rounds... Can Kenya’s police beat the defiance of a new generation into submission? These scenes from Monday’s Saba Saba Day marches that marked 35 years since the spark of the movement that led to a return of multiparty rule.
We’ll ask about the 31 dead on the day, the increasingly heavy hand of authorities since last year’s anti-tax demonstrations and the demands of the so-called Gen-Z movement. Ahead of Saba Saba Day, the funeral in his home village of 31-year old blogger Albert Ojwang who died last month in the hands of police custody. How much of a test for Kenya’s democracy, one of the few in the region?
President William Ruto, who in a past life was cleared over post-electoral violence at the International Criminal Court, had managed to recast himself as a mainstream politician courted on the world stage. He’s defiant in the face of those calling for his departure before the end of his mandate in 2027. What next for Ruto and the largely leaderless movement defying him?
Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.
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Olivia BIZOT FRANCE 24 journalist
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Otsieno NAMWAYA Associate Director for Africa, Human Rights Watch
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Robert PUKOSE SATIA MP, United Democratic Alliance (UDA)
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Francis AWINO President, Bunge la Mwananchi
English (US) · 