“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” – Desmond Tutu

By Dr. Melisa Akinyi Adongo, The Diaspora Times reporter, Kenya

Nairobi, Kenya —Kenya’s long-simmering political tensions erupted into deadly violence on Monday, July 7th, as the nation marked yet another Saba Saba Day with mass demonstrations that left more than 15 people dead, dozens injured, and entire cities paralyzed. The protests—held in at least 17 counties—underscored the country’s deepening crisis of governance, economic despair, and public mistrust of President William Ruto’s administration.

The nationwide demonstrations, characterized by chants of “Ruto Must Go!” and “Yote Yawezekana Bila Ruto” (“All is possible without Ruto”), were some of the largest and most defiant Kenya has witnessed since the tumultuous 2024 anti-tax protests. Protest hotspots included the sprawling satellite towns of Rongai, Ngong, Juja, Thika, and the working-class neighborhoods of Kangemi and Dagoretti in Nairobi, where casualties were reported to be especially high.

According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), at least 29 injuries, two abductions, and 37 arrests were confirmed as security forces clashed violently with demonstrators. Witnesses described harrowing scenes of police opening live fire on unarmed crowds, deploying excessive force in clear violation of constitutional rights.

Among the dead were young protesters, some still in their teens, whose only crime appeared to be voicing discontent over a failing economy, rising cost of living, and what many view as an increasingly authoritarian regime.

“The sheer scale of police barricades, military-style operations, and use of live ammunition points to a government more concerned with suppressing dissent than protecting life and property,” a KNCHR official told The Diaspora Times.

The protests brought economic life to a standstill. The Commission noted that significant police barricades and roadblocks, particularly in Nairobi, rendered movement nearly impossible. The cities of Kiambu, Meru, Kisii, Nyeri, Nakuru, and Embu were also heavily barricaded, cutting off entire communities and choking vital supply lines.

This was despite a controversial directive by Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku, who ordered all government employees to report to work “without fail”—a directive that proved impossible to enforce as both public and private sector operations crumbled under the weight of nationwide unrest.

Across the country, numerous businesses shuttered their doors, fearing widespread looting and destruction. Indeed, looting was reported in at least six counties, while in Kerugoya, the Central Constituency Development Fund (CDF) office was torched, allegedly by criminal elements taking advantage of the chaos.

The protests also paralyzed education, with most schools and institutions of learning remaining closed. The decision reflected not only security concerns but also solidarity with the national outcry against an increasingly oppressive state apparatus.

“Parents kept children home. Teachers stayed away. The entire education sector was effectively brought to its knees,” noted an education official in Nakuru.

The choice of July 7th, Saba Saba Day—historically remembered for the 1990 pro-democracy protests that catalyzed Kenya’s journey toward multiparty democracy—was no coincidence. It was a deliberate call to memory, linking today’s struggle against corruption, economic exploitation, and state brutality to Kenya’s past battles for freedom and justice.

But unlike in 1990, when unity of purpose galvanized the entire nation, today’s demonstrations exposed Kenya’s fractured social fabric, marred by ethnic divisions, class inequality, and the cynical manipulation of religion and power.

With bodies lying cold in morgues and wounded citizens filling hospitals, the question now is whether the Ruto government can survive the storm gathering on its doorstep. Critics argue that the regime has lost its moral and political legitimacy, choosing repression over dialogue, and bullets over ballots.

The international community, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, has already raised concerns over the excessive use of force, urging an independent investigation and the protection of fundamental rights.

The protesters, undeterred by the bloodshed, vow to return to the streets. They know the price of silence in Kenya has always been oppression. And as one young protester told The Diaspora Times before being whisked away by police:

“We have no food. We have no jobs. We have no future. All we have left is our voice. And we will use it—no matter what it costs.”