{"id":26290,"date":"2025-06-24T11:47:36","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T08:47:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/barazalab.com\/?p=26290"},"modified":"2025-06-24T11:47:36","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T08:47:36","slug":"utajua-haujui-the-year-kenya-fought-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/utajua-haujui-the-year-kenya-fought-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Utajua Haujui – The Year Kenya Fought Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Joy Adhiambo
\n<\/em>
\nIf there\u2019s one thing 2024 has taught us as Kenyans, it\u2019s the brutal truth enclosed in our favorite phrase: utajua haujui (you\u2019ll quickly understand that you really don\u2019t know anything). Life in this corner of the world has a knack for humbling even the most prepared. Indeed, tulijua hatujui. The endless barrage of challenges we faced this year was so overwhelming, I\u2019m genuinely thankful to be a part of the sensitized statistics rather than the desensitized ones. Too many negative occurrences can alter a person\u2019s brain chemistry into numbness. But for us? We didn\u2019t stay numb. We acted.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The year began with a powerful momentum\u2014<\/span>the Total Shutdown KE <\/b>protests against femicide in February. For the first and last time in recent history, citizens demanded better without being met by the government\u2019s notorious cocktail of teargas and violence. It was electrifying\u2014a collective adrenaline rush that many of us are still riding to this day. It set the tone for what would become a historic\u00a0 year of defiance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When Hunger Begets Anger\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know about you, but when I\u2019m hungry, I tend to get angry. And that, in a\u00a0 nutshell, is what sparked the mammoth protests we witnessed across the 254 this\u00a0 year. The policies rolled out since President William Ruto\u2019s election have been\u00a0 nothing short of disastrous for Kenya\u2019s development. A stranger might look in and\u00a0 remark, \u201cDamn, this guy wants to finish them,\u201d and honestly, they wouldn\u2019t be far\u00a0 off. Nothing was working. Citizens, already salty from the dubious election that\u00a0 put him in power, were sitting on a powder keg\u2014and the finance bill in June,\u00a0 which proposed punitive taxes, was the match that lit it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thinking back to the start of the protests, I realized that wishing, ‘If only everyone\u00a0 could just\u2026’ is unrealistic. Why? Because not everyone will. We have two choices:\u00a0 either we shape people to fit the goal, or we adjust the goal to fit the people.\u00a0 Shaping people can work, but it\u2019s often unsatisfying. Adjusting the goal is almost\u00a0 impossible, usually illegal, and rarely lasting. But when real systemic change takes\u00a0 hold, oh it sticks!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

History, from the Mau Mau rebellion to today’s movements, has shown this over\u00a0 and over. Whether through solutions that ignore individual resistance or efforts\u00a0 to change the person, the journey is tough. But as the protests this year proved,\u00a0 the fight is always worth it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Protests, Propaganda, and Presidential Panic\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

The protests that began in June 2024 peeled back the layers of Kenya\u2019s systemic rot.\u00a0 They exposed just how much intersectionality matters: for one vice to fall, ten\u00a0 more must also be uprooted. From corruption to tribalism, corruption does not\u00a0 exist in isolation; it festers alongside tribalism, classism and institutional neglect.\u00a0 These protests forced us to confront the scale of rot that has been ignored for\u00a0 decades. The government\u2019s response? Ah predictable! A regime that promised to\u00a0 care met us with nothing but bile. The cultural shock of realizing your oppressor is\u00a0 allergic to accountability? Enough to make anyone scream.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not as if any of this came out of the blue. The government\u2019s apathy towards its\u00a0 citizens had been loud for a while, especially during the floods crisis in April.\u00a0 Nothing proved this more than their venomous response to that natural disaster.\u00a0 Better the devil you know than the devil you don\u2019t right? The unrest we saw this\u00a0 year was a testament to a chilling reality: your oppressor doesn\u2019t just dislike you\u00a0 vocalizing dissent; they loathe it. If they could, they would spit on you.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The less you know, the better for them. <\/b>Silence and ignorance are their preferred\u00a0 tools of subjugation. And yet, we\u2019ve been anything but silent. Sometimes, I laugh\u00a0 when I think about how annoyed they must be by us. Protests and strikes every\u00a0 other week, public displays of their failures\u2014imagine the frustration! The daily\u00a0 parade Kenyans do of their shortcomings forced them to confront their\u00a0 mismanagement. Their only counter? Teargas, batons, and propaganda.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I believe teargas sales really soared as manufacturers \u201cate good\u201d this year. It\u2019s the\u00a0 one industry thriving under this regime, because they so much believe in the art of choking the citizens into submission. Forget policies; their consistency lies in\u00a0 fumigating crowds with industrial-grade \u2018accountability repellant\u2019. I even\u00a0 discovered my hidden athletic talent while running from flying canisters and riot\u00a0 police.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As brave as Kenyans are, natural instincts kick in when survival is at stake.\u00a0 Nonetheless, with each passing protest, even the high-stakes Nane Nane\u00a0 demonstrations on August 8th calling for Ruto\u2019s resignation\u2014our courage grew.\u00a0 People still showed up, despite the risks. Those who stood firm in the face of\u00a0 danger? Heroes and heroines in my book.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A History That Can\u2019t and Won\u2019t Stay in the Past\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

History has an unsettling way of repeating itself. For many Kenyans, the events of\u00a0 this year have felt eerily familiar, evoking memories of the Moi era. From 1978 to\u00a0 2002, Daniel Arap Moi ruled with an iron fist, driven by an obsession with control\u00a0 and unwavering loyalty, all while silencing critics with brutal efficiency. Fast\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

forward to 2024, and Kenya finds itself haunted by the shadow of those 24 years.\u00a0 The parallels with President William Ruto\u2019s regime are striking\u2014his thirst for\u00a0 dominance, his hostility toward dissent, and his arsenal of tactics to stifle\u00a0 resistance echo that same repressive playbook.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, Kenya today is not the Kenya of yesteryears<\/b>. The country has a new\u00a0 constitution, institutional reforms, and the unstoppable force of social media.\u00a0 These shifts have rendered Moi-era strategies increasingly ineffective. The same\u00a0 tricks no longer yield the same results, although Ruto seems determined to try.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His playbook is familiar: propaganda, manipulations, deflecting, abductions,\u00a0 restrictive laws, police brutality, and the icing on the cake; claims of \u201coutside\u00a0 forces\u201d fueling the unrest. Outside forces? Really? We\u2019ve been wondering who\u00a0 these <\/span>mythical troublemakers <\/b>are since June 18th. Perhaps the President can\u00a0 finally share their identities. While he\u2019s at it, he might as well explain the\u00a0 mysterious \u201csharks\u201d that allegedly swallowed undersea internet cables during the\u00a0 Githurai massacre. We\u2019re all ears.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His regime\u2019s attempts to divide and suppress have been relentless. Tribalism,\u00a0 classism, and ageism\u2026 name them. But these tactics are failing. Kenya has\u00a0 changed. The constitution safeguards the people\u2019s right to protest, and a freer\u00a0 media environment ensures that injustices are documented and shared. The\u00a0 youth\u2014many unemployed and disillusioned\u2014have channeled their frustrations\u00a0 into mobilizing against a corrupt political elite. With the ability to share\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

information rapidly, they have exposed the regime\u2019s failures and rallied enraged\u00a0 citizens across the country.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, not everyone has held their ground. Some have sold out, others bent\u00a0 under pressure\u2014 a story as old as revolutions themselves. It\u2019s true what they say:\u00a0 a large portion of humanity has a price. And while I\u2019m grateful to end the year\u00a0 without one, it\u2019s sobering to recognize how many have responded to the\u00a0 movement with resistance, hatred, or outright sabotage. Some have also borne\u00a0 the weight of trauma\u2014 from the suffocating tear gas, to the haunting images of\u00a0 lifeless bodies on cold ground, to the deafening crack of gunfire\u2014 scars that are\u00a0 both visible and invisible. As much as we wish they could \u201cjust be there\u201d, they\u00a0 can\u2019t. They are walking testaments to PTSD.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, for those who still persist, their courage fuels the fire of justice and freedom\u00a0 that continues to burn. As we learned from the Mau Mau and even the Egyptian\u00a0 revolution of 2011, meaningful change takes time. <\/span>Modern-day slavery<\/b>, with its\u00a0 subtler chains, is harder to break. However, with the solidarity Kenyans have\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

shown this year, there\u2019s no doubt: the wheels of justice may grind slowly, but\u00a0 they grind exceedingly fine.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Power of Unity\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

This year has proven, beyond doubt, that unity is our strongest weapon. What\u00a0 began as protests dismissed as a \u201cGen Z tantrum\u201d quickly morphed into a Gen\u00a0 Zote movement\u2014one that encompassed every generation. As older Kenyans\u00a0 realized this fight affected them too, the narrative shifted. The strength of the\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

movement came from its leaderless nature, much like the Mau Mau\u2019s strategy,\u00a0 which ensured no single person could be compromised. Sellouts, inevitable in any\u00a0 revolution, became social pariahs\u2014shunned by a community that refused to let\u00a0 betrayal derail progress. And oh, the regime ilitufeel (felt us). That first End\u00a0 Femicide KE protest set a tone that echoed across subsequent demonstrations,\u00a0 birthing a movement aimed not just at defeating the finance bill but dismantling\u00a0 an entire pipeline of systemic failures.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Community has been the lifeblood of this movement, binding us in ways that go beyond political unrest. From memes that gave us relief amid despair to cultural\u00a0 events honoring the fallen, art became both a balm and a battle cry. Musicians turned grief into protest anthems, plays like Too Early for Birds rekindled our collective memory of resistance, and poets gave words to our shared frustrations.\u00a0 Even the nicknames, like calling Members of Parliament (MPs) \u201cMPigs,\u201d captured\u00a0 our communal fatigue and humor. Social media amplified these efforts, ensuring\u00a0 our voices resonated far beyond Kenya\u2019s borders. The solidarity was so\u00a0 remarkable even on the darkest days, as Kenyans rallied to support victims of\u00a0 police brutality, share vital information, and sustain the movement\u2019s momentum.\u00a0 Truly, <\/span>modern problems called for modern solutions<\/b>, and social media delivered.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This unity extended far and wide, inspiring protests across Africa\u2014from Nigeria to\u00a0 Uganda, to Mozambique\u2014where citizens, emboldened by Kenya\u2019s defiance,\u00a0 began challenging their own regimes. It\u2019s a stark reminder to oppressive leaders\u00a0 that they operate on borrowed time and walk on thin ice. As patience runs out,\u00a0 history offers a grim prophecy: <\/span>when people have nothing left to eat, they turn to the\u00a0 rulers. <\/span><\/i>And yet, our unity is not just about survival\u2014it\u2019s about reclaiming dignity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Journalists like Larry Madowo and John Allan Namu documented our struggles\u00a0 with unflinching accuracy, while organizations like Amnesty amplified our voices.\u00a0 Even Kenyans in the diaspora stood firm, organizing their own protests. Every\u00a0 meme, every protest anthem, every act of defiance was a testament to our\u00a0 collective resilience.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My favorite people this year? The activists. The likes of Njeri Wa Migwi, Hanifa\u00a0 Adan and Hussein Khalid, just to name a few. I call them \u2018human energy drinks\u2019\u2014 they\u2019re the ones who\u2019ve constantly uplifted others, even when they were running\u00a0 on empty themselves. As this chaotic year comes to an end, one truth stands\u00a0 clear: our oppressors despise our unity because it’s the one thing they can’t\u00a0 break.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When Will They Learn?\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Oppressors despise an informed, unified populace. Seriously, this regime\u2019s\u00a0 attempts to silence us have ranged from laughable to horrifying\u2014teargas, police\u00a0 shootings, mass arrests, abductions and even laughable internet shutdown\u00a0 excuses like \u201csharks\u201d swallowing cables. Yet, their allergic reaction to the\u00a0 constitution has been their most glaring failure. That document, flawed as it may\u00a0 be, guarantees our right to protest. The Kenyan government, however, seems\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

determined to prove their disdain for it at every turn. How bad must their\u00a0 eyesight be to miss the very laws they swore to uphold? I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if\u00a0 their idea of reading the constitution is holding it upside down and pretending the\u00a0 words rearrange themselves to fit their imaginations as we\u2019ve seen this year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

President William Ruto has attempted to make \u201cimportant concessions\u201d to\u00a0 address the backlash\u2014 shelving the wildly unpopular finance bill and reshuffling\u00a0 his cabinet. But both moves have been reintroduced in sinister ways, <\/span>revealing a\u00a0 government more committed to illusions of reform than real change. <\/b>Since June\u00a0 2024, the protests have caused loss of lives, destruction of property, and\u00a0 worsened the government\u2019s already shaky reputation. Instead of engaging with\u00a0 the demands of citizens, Ruto has relied religiously on threats and violence. His\u00a0 strategy is clear: tire us out, slow us down, and distract us from the movement\u2019s\u00a0 goals. But this playbook has failed time and again. Wakenya wameamka (Kenyans\u00a0 are awake).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kenya is changing, even if the regime refuses to acknowledge it. In the words of\u00a0 the late Wangari Maathai, <\/span>\u201cYou cannot enslave a mind that knows itself. That\u00a0 values itself. That understands itself.\u201d <\/i><\/b>Our minds are decolonizing, our fire for\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

justice burns brighter, and we\u2019ve proven that the power lies with the people. For\u00a0 all their efforts to divide and suppress, the government has felt our impact this\u00a0 year. And we\u2019re not done. They may continue to implement unconstitutional\u00a0 laws, but we\u2019ll continue to resist, mobilize, and inform. Because if there\u2019s one\u00a0 thing 2024 has shown us, it\u2019s this: we are the new opposition.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What You Should Think About Now\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Talk of stats of the deaths that took place during the protests. The unidentified\u00a0 bodies. The fact that we may never know the real number of victims of the\u00a0 oppressive state. We may never fully know the ins and outs of what happened in\u00a0 the Endarasha fire tragedy, the Githurai Massacre, and the Kware dam deaths.\u00a0 But what we know for sure is that as a collective, we shall live to see the day the\u00a0 murderous cops are held accountable. We shall live to see the day the corrupt are\u00a0 finally reprimanded and actually spend years in jail, not some five-star hotel\u00a0 somewhere where they lie on the news headlines claiming they’re behind bars.\u00a0 We shall live to see the fall of a thick-headed dictator who has believed that the\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

people\u2019s voices are nothing more than the wind. The silence that once kept us\u00a0 shackled is no more.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We cannot be in big 2025 still auditioning for the role of \u2018silent sufferers\u2019 in the\u00a0 regime\u2019s dystopian play. Oppression is out of fashion, and if they haven\u2019t gotten\u00a0 the memo yet, trust us\u2014 we shall deliver it. Nothing will go unchecked. They\u00a0 better expect us to put our noses in every single one of their businesses. Even\u00a0 that bill that talks of confidential funds that cannot be discussed? Oh, believe me, we shall discuss it. These people have lost all our trust\u2014and rightfully so. But\u00a0 even amidst the darkness of it all, we know one thing: we\u2019ve seen this script\u00a0 before. We all know how it ends. And this time, we\u2019re rewriting it. The journey is\u00a0 just beginning, and the sound of justice is about to echo louder than ever before.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Community has been the lifeblood of this movement, binding us in ways that go beyond political unrest. From memes that gave us relief amid despair to cultural\u00a0 events honoring the fallen, art became both a balm and a battle cry. Musicians turned grief into protest anthems, plays like Too Early for Birds rekindled our collective memory of resistance, and poets gave words to our shared frustrations.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26291,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[167,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-baraza-community","category-the-baraza-notebook"],"yoast_head":"\nBaraza Media Lab<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/utajua-haujui-the-year-kenya-fought-back\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Utajua Haujui - The Year Kenya Fought Back - Baraza Media Lab\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Community has been the lifeblood of this movement, binding us in ways that go beyond political unrest. 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