GOVERNMENT DOES NOT UNDERSTAND YOUR AGITATION

 

It has been gloomy past few days especially after the 25^th June demonstrations. The same kind of feeling I had after last year’s demonstrations. The plans and mobilization moments have had my spirits hyped and the peak is always during the demo days. But shortly after, the reality seems to strike. That it was not possible again to see the government act. I know for this to be effective, hard work, patience and sacrifice are needed. But I just see it is far too long. I don’t think I am the only one.

This morning while scrolling the internet like I always do, I came across a video posted by FNF during the launch of We Refuse to Be Victims, a poetry collection by Ugandan poet and activist Sam Mugumya. Sam says that in dictatorial and colonial formations, the oppressed are not necessarily the victims but the victims are the oppressors. Because oppressors are slaves of power and inhumanity. He asserts that it is us, the oppressed, who are supposed to liberate them because we can. Oppressors have no power to liberate us or liberate himself.

I have not read the book but his video explaining the scenario completely changed my perspective. It has helped me patch up some sense not only in the incoherent response by government and its bloggers but also by people who have been talking about it for long. Dr. Wandia Njoya and M. Ogada. And recently the post by Cyprian Is Nyakundi on the delusion of the government in the liberation movement.

To understand what Sam is saying in his book, we ought to look at how the government is handling the protests. The response reveals how the government is playing by a classic playbook that yielded results for the colonial government or the past oppressive regimes that we have seen. Clamping down dissenting voices, buying out the opponents, spewing narratives and so on and so forth. Let me highlight several responses.

Since the June 25, 2024 protests in Kenya, sparked by the controversial Finance Bill 2024, the government’s response has been marked by a heavy-handed approach, escalating tensions, and limited efforts at reform. Below is how the government has responded to demands of the citizens;

• Labeling People as Terrorists: President William Ruto described the June 25, 2024 protests, during which parliament was stormed, as “treasonous” and “hijacked by dangerous people,” framing them as acts of “terrorism disguised as dissent” rather than legitimate demonstrations. This rhetoric was reiterated in 2025, with government statements labeling the June 25, 2025 anniversary protests as “riots, chaos, and anarchy” rather than peaceful demonstrations.

• Killings: The government’s response to protests involved excessive police force, resulting in significant loss of life. In 2024, at least 60 people were killed during the Finance Bill protests, with 19 deaths reported in Nairobi alone on June 25, 2024, when police fired live bullets at protesters. In 2025, the anniversary protests on June 25 saw at least 8–16 deaths, with most attributed to police action, including shootings. Notable cases include the death of 12-year-old Kennedy Onyango by a stray bullet and vendor Boniface Kariuki, shot at close range.

• Arrests: Thousands of protesters faced arbitrary arrests. Between June and November 2024, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) documented 1,765 arbitrary arrests, with 61 arrests during the June 25, 2025 protests alone. Detainees are often held beyond the legal 24-hour limit before court appearance, some without adequate food or water, and others faced assault in custody. For instance, 17-year-old Tristan Mugabi was arrested despite not protesting and was released only after proving he was a minor.

• Abductions and Enforced Disappearances: A wave of abductions targeted activists, protesters, and government critics, with the KNCHR reporting 73 abductions and 82 enforced disappearances between June 2024 and December 2024, 26 of whom remain missing as of June 2025. High-profile cases include journalist Macharia Gaitho, activists Bob Njagi and Aslam Longton, and bus driver Emmanuel Mukuria. Some abductees reported torture, including beatings and interrogation about protest funding. The government denied police involvement, with police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga attributing abductions to “criminal gangs,” though rights groups point to security agencies, including a covert unit allegedly formed by the National Intelligence Service and Directorate of Criminal Investigations. President Ruto claimed in May 2025 that all abductees had been returned, a statement contradicted by ongoing reports of missing persons.

• Formation of a Broad-Based Government: President Ruto made concessions, including rejecting the Finance Bill on June 26, 2024, fired cabinet secretaries an inviting and signing a pact with Raila Odinga in the formation of broadbased government that saw notable figures from the opposition join the government.

• Clampdown on dissenting Voices: Targeting social media influencers such as Albert Ojwang, who died in custody after criticizing a police official, suggests heightened monitoring of online dissent. The government’s accusations against civil society organizations, like the Kenya Human Rights Commission, for allegedly funding protests, and threats to investigate groups for receiving foreign funding.

• Politicians’ Remarks: Politicians’ rhetoric fueled tensions. David Ndii, Ruto’s economic adviser, posted inflammatory comments on X, warning young protesters of “casualties” and suggesting they “say their goodbyes” before demonstrating, implying severe consequences. President Ruto’s accusations of foreign funding (e.g., targeting the Ford Foundation) and claims of protests being infiltrated by “self-seekers” further demonized demonstrators.

• Using Goons: Recent protests were infiltrated by hired “goons” who disrupted peaceful demonstrations by beating and robbing protesters, often with police complicity. Videos showed police vehicles escorting these groups, and rights activists alleged that pro-government politicians sponsored the chaos to discredit the protests.
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·       Additionally the government’s response included deploying the Kenya Defence Forces on June 25, 2024, to “protect critical infrastructure,” a move criticized as unconstitutional without parliamentary approval. Courts issued rulings against police use of live ammunition and excessive force, but these were largely ignored, with authorities even withdrawing security from a judge who ruled against them. The government’s failure to investigate or prosecute those responsible for killings and abductions has fueled accusations of impunity, with rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch documenting a pattern of repression reminiscent of colonial-era policing.

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·       The government’s narrative has often framed protesters as threats to national stability, but every shred of evidence suggest a pattern of state-sponsored violence and suppression rather than genuine security concerns. The lack of accountability and continued abductions point to a deliberate strategy to silence dissent, undermining claims of democratic governance. They have blamed individuals for sponsoring the protests and every blogger or pro movement has been accused of being funded to distablize the government.

The Kenyan government’s response to the 2024–2025 protests closely follows the repressive script of imperial powers, particularly British colonial authorities in Kenya. By labeling protesters as “terrorists” and “traitors,” President Ruto’s administration mirrors the British tactic of branding Mau Mau fighters as savages to delegitimize their cause, diverting attention from grievances like corruption and economic hardship. The use of lethal force, with over 60 deaths in 2024 and 8–16 in 2025, echoes colonial massacres and U.S. militarized responses to civil unrest, such as the 1967 Detroit riots, where state violence prioritized control over dialogue. Mass arrests (1,765 in 2024) and abductions (73 reported) further reflect colonial “screening” operations and U.S. COINTELPRO-era tactics, targeting dissenters to instill fear and disrupt movements.

This imperial playbook extends to deploying “goons” to sow chaos, just like British use of loyalist militias like the Home Guard, and inflammatory rhetoric from politicians, reminiscent of colonial and U.S. claims of “outside agitators.” Limited concessions, such as rejecting the Finance Bill, parallel colonial token reforms that avoided systemic change, while increased surveillance of activists aligns with modern U.S. monitoring and colonial informant networks. This continuity suggests Kenya’s government is using imperial strategies to suppress dissent, prioritizing power over accountability in a pattern rooted in its colonial past and echoed in global state responses. A classic example of being a slave of power and inhumanity.

You don’t need to attend any science class to prove that our government and political class are a group of most unintelligent, poor thinkers, uneducated in society. And sticking to the ‘education’ dream, for them they have achieved self-actualization. They are leaving the life that education promised them. They have jobs, power and money. They have done their best to the ungrateful citizens who are agitators, lazy and don’t want to work their way up. They don’t see the reason why anyone should complain. They have used the playbook that they were taught and stuck by it. They don’t see why we should clap for Nelson Mandela for working with De Clerk but we reject Ruto working with Raila. For them it does not make sense.

This morning I saw a video of Dr. Wandia Njoya, explaining why we should shun the idea of solution focused gospel. She says that the people who define the problem are the ones who will provide the solution. That, how we see the problem is how we solve it. What does this mean then? It means, the response we are seeing by the government is how they have diagnosed and defined the problem. Can someone be wrong about how they define a problem? Absolutely. For example, when maize were turning yellow or pale green due to nitrogen deficiency in our farms while we were young, we could see a lot of stalks to chew but our parents saw loses. It all depended on where you stand. A child or a parent. The same can be said by those in government. One they don’t have the requisite amount of brains to comprehend and two they are at the point of privilege, and they don’t get it.

It is therefore the duty of the citizens to liberate our government and political class from their intellectual and moral incapacitation, for they are trapped in a distorted view that blinds them to the citizens’ struggle. Our leaders, define the problem based on their privileged lens, seeing protests not as cries for justice but as threats from “lazy agitators” who reject their “self-actualized” dream of power, jobs and wealth. Like children chewing yellowing maize stal
ks, unaware of the nitrogen deficiency signaling loss, they revel in their personal gains while dismissing our pain as ingratitude.

Their brutal response to the 2024–2025 protests killings, abductions, and labeling dissent as “treason” reveals a profound inability to grasp the real issues: corruption, economic hardship, and betrayal of the promise of education. This misdiagnosis, rooted in their uneducated worldview and adherence to an outdated imperial playbook, shows they lack the intellectual capacity to see the nation’s decay as we do. They want to equate Ruto’s alliance with Raila to Mandela’s reconciliation with De Klerk, failing to discern political opportunism from transformative justice. This is a sign of their poor thinking and privileged detachment. Our leaders see only threats to their power where we see a demand for systemic change.

To liberate them from their mental shackles and forcing them to confront the true issues facing our country; corruption, inequality and impunity, change in tact is needed. I am happy that Cyprian is already dreaming of changing how demonstrations are conducted. Using the unity of SiriNiNumbers to reform demonstrations which will eventually give new outcomes. In my crazy imaginations, we can use the demonstrations to do good. Do town cleaning as a protest. Use SiriNiNumbers to fix clogs that are causing inefficiencies in the country. Use the numbers to do medical camps. Defiance to directives or services. Events. Night vigils or festivals. That are all loaded with quiet rebellion, stoic stance and disciplined dissent.

I don’t know.