Yong Kenyans protest on Kenyatta Avenue in Nairobi on June 25, 2024.
On the day Kenyans prepare to march in commemoration of the June 25, 2024 anti-Finance Bill protests, police on Wednesday remained adamant that all gatherings in the Nairobi’s CBD are illegal.
Police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga said officers were prepared to deal with any unlawful gatherings, adding that the police “know what they are supposed to do.”
Moments earlier, Nairobi Regional Police Commander Issa Mohamud had declared all gatherings under the banner of the Gen Z demonstrations in Nairobi illegal, saying police had not received notification of the events and were prepared to act.
The position contradicts actions taken a week earlier when opposition leaders led by People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua and DAP-Kenya’s Eugene Wamalwa, accompanied by Siaya Governor James Orengo and others, delivered notifications and petitions to Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja on behalf of families of victims of police brutality ahead of the June 25 commemorations.
With police maintaining a hardline stance, there are fears that any demonstrations could once again descend into the familiar cat-and-mouse confrontations that have come to define protests in Kenya, often leaving protesters beaten, injured or dead.
For weeks before June 25, 2024, small groups of youths carrying placards marched through the streets of Nairobi’s CBD before dispersing peacefully. Then came a day that captured global attention and inspired many young Kenyans to demand that their voices be heard.
For a week leading up to June 25, posters calling for a mega protest against the Finance Bill, 2024, were shared thousands of times across social media platforms. The poster would later become a source of anxiety within the security establishment.
On the morning of June 25, youths streamed into the CBD from all major entry points, including Muthurwa, University Way, Globe Roundabout and Harambee Avenue. Within hours, thousands had overwhelmed police attempts to block entry into the city centre.
Their message was simple: Reject the Finance Bill, 2024.
By sunset, the day had redrawn the relationship between citizens and the State, thrust a new generation into the centre of national politics and exposed deep fault lines in the country’s democracy.
It was also exactly a week since the first victim of the protests, Rex Masai, had been shot dead.
Hours after protesters breached Parliament, President William Ruto labelled the demonstrations “treasonous”, saying they had been hijacked by dangerous and criminal elements and promising a firm response.
It was a day of courage and bloodshed, hope and heartbreak, whose impact continues to shape the country two years later.
What began as hashtags on social media evolved into a nationwide movement. Unlike previous protests, the Gen Z demonstrations had no obvious political godfathers, no hired crowds and no ethnic undertones.
It was a generation determined to shape its future by making its voice count.
Anti-Finance Bill protests
As Parliament prepared to vote on the Bill, thousands poured into the streets of Nairobi and other towns. Many carried Kenyan flags while others held copies of the Constitution.
Just after 2pm, protesters heeded a message circulating on social media: march to Parliament and tell lawmakers to reject the Finance Bill.
By 3pm, dozens of youths had forced their way past security guards and armed police officers manning Parliament. Police responded with lethal force.
Demonstrators carry the body of a protester who was shot dead at Parliament Buildings during the anti-Tax Bill protests in Nairobi on June 25, 2024.
The Kenya Medical Association reported 13 deaths in Nairobi alone, while later estimates by human rights groups placed the death toll from the ensuing anti-government protests at more than 60, with hundreds more injured.
Families spent hours searching hospitals and mortuaries for missing loved ones. Social media became a digital command centre where volunteers identified victims, tracked the injured and documented alleged abuses.
The dead became martyrs and the injured living heroes.
Two days later, President Ruto bowed to public pressure and announced that he had declined to assent to the controversial legislation.
In an interview with the Nation last month, former Amnesty International Kenya executive director Irungu Houghton said one of the most profound changes brought about by the protests was a new understanding of constitutional rights among ordinary citizens.
“I believe it helped mainstream human rights consciousness in Kenya. Today, young people understand constitutional rights in ways that were unimaginable a decade ago. Before the Gen Z protests, many Kenyans could not tell you which article protects the right to protest,” he said.
Outgoing Amnesty International Kenya Executive Director Irungu Houghton during an interview at Amnesty International Kenya offices in Nairobi on May 26, 2026.
Young people, once accused of political apathy, scrutinised legislation clause by clause, debated public debt, interrogated government spending and educated one another online.
Millions demonstrated a level of engagement with governance issues that surprised even seasoned political analysts.
Bob Njagi, president of the Freedom Kenya Movement, said the protests transformed hopelessness into action.
“I think we are in a much better place now than we were in 2024 when we felt hopeless and believed there was nothing we could do. But when we came together, it was an awakening. We realised that we could actually do something,” he said.
While the Finance Bill was defeated, the aftermath of the protests revealed another troubling reality.
Reports of enforced disappearances, abductions and arbitrary arrests emerged in the weeks and months that followed. Human rights organisations documented cases of activists, protesters and government critics allegedly being picked up by unknown individuals, held incommunicado and later released without charge.
Kenyan activist Bob Njagi during an interview in Kitengela town, Kajiado County, on May 29, 2025.
Njagi, who was abducted alongside brothers Aslam and Jamil Longton in Kitengela, believes this remains one of the movement’s greatest concerns.
“Enforced disappearances have now become almost normal. It is something that used to be strange, but now we see people going missing and then being released after two or three days. The level of intimidation remains high,” he said.
Another activist, Joshua Okayo, who was then president of the Kenya School of Law, sees little evidence of progress.
“There was progress for a little while when there was a lot of attention on violations of human rights. But over the last few months, people have been dying in police cells. People have been disappearing as recently as this year. There have been cases of arbitrary arrests without any cause or offence.”
Just two days before the second anniversary of the protests, Okayo found himself back in court facing charges linked to the April fuel price demonstrations.
To activists, the persistence of arbitrary arrests, deaths in police custody and allegations of disappearances raises uncomfortable questions about whether the country has truly learnt the lessons of June 25.
Few embody the personal cost of the movement more than Bernard Kavuli. In December 2024, six months after the protests, he was abducted and held incommunicado for 15 days.
“Life has never been the same again; some of us lost jobs and had to go back home and start afresh,” he said.
Like many activists caught up in the post-protest crackdown, the consequences stretched far beyond detention. That is why compensation for victims remains a critical issue.
“Even though it will never be commensurate with what we went through, it can at least help us get back on our feet.”
Despite his ordeal, Kavuli remains optimistic about the movement’s long-term impact.
“In the past, our political leaders thought Kenyan voters were not well informed. But since 2024, we have interrogated laws, including the Finance Bill, going through every clause. As a result, our leaders are now more responsible,” he said.
He points to the caution displayed by lawmakers during subsequent Finance Bill debates as evidence of a new political reality. Last week, at least 186 MPs skipped the vote on the Finance Bill, 2026.
Killed during the protests
That awakening is increasingly finding expression beyond protests.
Young people who once organised demonstrations are now seeking elective office, joining advocacy organisations and participating in public policy discussions.
Kavuli himself is vying for the Mwingi North parliamentary seat, while Billy Mwangi, who spent 15 days with him in captivity, is seeking the Embu Senate seat.
“We are moving from the streets to the ballot. We will not wait until tomorrow; our tomorrow is now,” he said.
Today, government policies are scrutinised more intensely, public participation forums attract greater attention and lawmakers think twice before supporting unpopular proposals.
But even as the movement matures, activists remain wary of politicians attempting to appropriate it.
The wounds of June 25 remain open. Families continue to seek justice for relatives killed during the protests, while human rights groups continue to demand accountability for unlawful killings, disappearances and torture.
For activists like Okayo, the struggle is about ensuring those sacrifices were not in vain.
“I am not protesting because I own the protests. I am protesting because I am honouring the fallen, because nothing has changed. We need compensation, and eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,” he said.
The June 2024 protests also appeared to reawaken the use of goons to disrupt demonstrations, a phenomenon that has persisted two years later. Incidents of peaceful assemblies being infiltrated by suspected hired gangs have become increasingly common.
On June 25, 2025, Amnesty International reported that at least 16 people were killed during anti-government protests held to mark the first anniversary of the Gen Z demonstrations.
Two years later, the images remain vivid: young people draped in Kenyan flags, chants echoing through Nairobi’s streets, tear gas hanging in the air, ambulances racing through traffic and families anxiously searching for loved ones.
History remembers certain days as moments when nations change course. For Kenya, June 25, 2024, was one of those days. It gave a generation its voice and forced a country to confront difficult questions about governance, accountability and justice.
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