Parliament Set To Make Drastic Moves After Gen-Z Led Kenyan Protest Leaves 16 Dead

Kenya’s Parliament moves to table a restrictive motion on protests in the country following the violent waves of protests in the country in the last two years.

Days after the latest demonstration in the country, the Parliament of the country is now said to be threatening the constitutional right of the people to protest by suggesting laws that will restrict them.

This law will force protest movements to register full names of individuals, addresses of individuals, routes planned, number of protesters, as well as slogans to be chanted during protests.

The proposed law comes after thousands of Kenyan youths marched in protest on 25 June 2025 in the country’s capital, Nairobi, to air out their grievances against the corrupt government, express their dissatisfaction surrounding the mysterious disappearances of fellow Kenyans, and illegal operations of the police force.

This June marked a year since the country witnessed a violent anti-tax bill protest that left 60 people killed and several injured. 

According to a former Member of Parliament, George Koimburi, the controversial financial tax bill was passed by lawmakers in 2024, after the Members of Parliament were offered 2 million in Kenyan Shillings to vote in favour of the bill.

However, after the deadly protest that left the country shaken, the Kenyan president, William Ruto, refrained from signing the bill, stating, “I concede, and therefore I will not sign the 2024 finance bill.”

In honour of last year’s anti-tax protest and to mourn those who were lost during the demonstration, Kenyans came out in their numbers once again, insisting that they have yet to see any substantial changes one year after they marched to parliament demanding a better system.

According to Amnesty International Kenya, the death toll in this year’s protest is marked at 16, while at least 107 persons are said to have suffered from injuries resulting from bullet hits. Al Jazeera notes that peaceful protesters were attacked by police using live rounds, tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons.

Center of this year’s protest is the death of 31-year-old blogger, Albert Ojwang, who died in police custody. Protesters were seen on video holding up signs with the blogger’s name and chanting ‘Justice for Ojwang.’ 

Ojwang was found dead in his police cell after being arrested at his house because he allegedly posted false and malicious information about the Deputy Chief of the Police Force, Eliud Lagat.

An autopsy conducted on Ojwang revealed that he had suffered a head injury, neck compression, and soft tissue damage, all of which point to assault as the cause of death. 

Ojwang’s case is only one out of many cases of police brutality in Kenya, and the citizens are now saying they have had enough.

Kenya’s Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has taken up the responsibility of investigating police activities during last year’s and this year’s protests. The body has successfully tracked down 6 men, including police officers, who are connected to the death of Albert Ojwang.

The coverage of this year’s protest was halted by the government after the Communications Authority of Kenya ordered all television and radio stations in the country to stop broadcasting live coverage of the march. 

Several Kenyan broadcast stations that proceeded to offer live coverage of the protest despite the order from the CA were taken off air, however, after a court in Nairobi suspended the ban, broadcasting commenced in those stations.

Responding to this order, the Kenya Editors’ Guild stated in a press release that the “CA is actively undermining judicial authority and reopening the door to unconstitutional state censorship.”

Many youths, particularly those in African countries, have reacted to the protest in Kenya, stating that the courage of Kenyan youths is admirable. One X user posted, “All eyes on Kenya please, they are having a historic Gen-Z-led protest…”

The government’s present efforts to restrict protests in Kenya make many citizens believe the war is far from being over, and with the recent abduction of another blogger, Ndiangui Kinyagia, the youths continue to demand justice on social media using the hashtag #FreeDaguin.

A Kenyan activist, Abigail Arunga, who spoke with Yuvoice, expressed that this could spiral into another protest with the upcoming national holiday on July 7, Saba Saba, which was historically a protest day in Kenya.