Kenya on fire again, By Dimeji Macaulay, Nikos Anastasiadis

On June 6, 2025, 31-year-old teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang was arrested by the police in Kenya. Two days later, his father received the dead, tortured body of his son from the police. They claimed that he had died of “self-inflicted wounds,” but the post-mortem examination showed clear signs of torture. The reason for his arrest and murder was that he had been publishing content criticising the government and the police.

This led to an outburst of protests against police brutality. These protests quickly linked the issue of repression to austerity and took on an anti-government character. The cold-blooded shooting in the head of street vendor Boniface Kariuki by a police officer during one of these protests, which led to his eventual death a few days later, sparked a new wave of outrage.

This year’s protests were seen by many as a continuation of last year’s movement against President Ruto and his government.

2024 Revolt

Kenya's ongoing crisis stems from widespread discontent with President William Ruto's government, fueled by economic hardships and corruption. The controversy surrounding the 2024 Finance Bill, which aimed to increase government revenue through new tax measures, sparked massive protests spearheaded by young people (it became known as the Gen Z uprising).

The Ruto government introduced the Finance Bill  in May 2024, which was a clear attack on the living standards of the poor. In mid-June 2024, Kenyan youth took to the streets chanting "Ruto Must Go" and "Zakayo Shuka" (meaning "Zacchaeus, come down").

On June 25, 2024, protesters stormed the National Assembly in Kenya, setting part of it ablaze. They ransacked the building, smashing everything in sight. Others broke into the Senate Chambers and took over as the people’s representatives, with one acting as Speaker. The golden mace, a symbol of parliamentary authority, was carried away by the youth to establish a people’s parliament in a liberated zone, away from the discredited and dishonoured National Assembly and its senators, also referred to as 'sinators.' This revolutionary experience will be remembered by those who witnessed it. However, the absence of any leadership—let alone a clear-headed one—and of an organised form of resistance was evident.

During the 2024 Uprising, more than 40 protesters were killed and over 500 were injured.

After days of mass protests, Ruto was forced to reverse the bill, but the protests on the streets could not be quelled by that alone. Eventually, he was forced to lay off his entire cabinet, but after some time , he reinstated many of them, fueling further anger.

Courage in the Face of Intimidation and Oppression

Ruto's refusal to resign is not unusual in the African context. Many African leaders—including some who emerged from liberation movements—have remained in power for decades, often relying on massive repression of opposition and dissent. In many cases, such leaders are eventually forced out through mass movements. In other instances, military takeovers have removed them from power.

At the time of writing, mass protests are ongoing in Togo. The regime there is widely seen as a French puppet, and the same family has ruled for nearly six decades. Faure Gnassingbé, the son of Eyadéma Gnassingbé, has been in power since 2005, after his father died in a plane crash.
[Read our analysis on “Pitfalls of Liberation Movements in Power Across Africa and the Way Forward”]

Going back to Kenya, the recent anti-police repression protests quickly connected to last year’s revolt using the slogan “Ruto must go.” Over the past year, protesters have shown remarkable courage. Social media is full of photos and videos of young Kenyans confronting the police and army at every flashpoint of the uprising.

During this year’s protests, the police again unleashed violence on protesters. Reports indicate that at least 19 people were killed. The Director of Criminal Investigations, Mohamed Amin, told journalists that 485 people have been arrested for various alleged offenses, including murder, terrorism, rape, looting, destruction of property, and attacks on police officers.

Abundant State Repression

But state repression in Kenya does not only apply to protests.

Dr. Davji Bhimji Atellah, President of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union, led the Kenyan doctors on a remarkable 60-day strike in March 2024, over demands for increased government funding of the public healthcare system and better working conditions for medical professionals in Kenya. He almost lost his life during a street march staged by the doctors before the strike started, as he was shot in the head with a projectile by a police officer.

In September 2024, Booker Omole, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Kenya, was arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport while traveling to Beijing. This arrest was widely seen as politically motivated due to his vocal opposition to Ruto.

In December 2024, the police attacked and dispersed with tear gas a peaceful protest against femicides and gender-based violence.

The issue of forced disappearances of activists has taken huge proportions during and after the 2024 protests. People are being abducted by men in plainclothes, often in unmarked cars, are being held in undisclosed locations, blindfolded, tortured or interrogated, and released without charges — some after days or weeks. Ruto’s acolyte and Majority Leader in the Parliament, Kimani Ichung’wah, shamelessly stated

“They are now locking themselves at Airbnbs with their girlfriends for three days to tarnish the government’s image.”

Ruto’s Game

Ruto’s regime is considered one of Western imperialism’s strongholds in Africa. Kenya is the only Sub-Saharan country to have the major non-NATO ally (MNNA) status (which means it has a strategic relationship with the US). It has sent troops to Haiti for a U.S.-backed security mission. It has politically supported Ukraine and Israel in the Gaza genocide.

But even Ruto’s Western allies could not avoid commenting on the police crackdown. The State Department, EU embassies, and the UN were forced to condemn police violence. Probably, they are afraid that Ruto is going too far and jeopardizing the stability of the regime. Given the recent shifts of power in several Sahel states that moved away from Western, and especially French, imperialism and closer to Russia and China, this fear seems very real.

A recent survey shows 75% of Kenyans report a decline in their economic situation since 2022. Government officials admit that the regime is very unpopular. The people mobilising against the government have to think and discuss ways to create their political vehicle- a party of the working class and the popular strata that will put forward a socialist way out of the crisis.