#meanwhile ...in Nairobi, Kenya

WHEN WE LOSE OUR FEAR, THEY LOSE THEIR POWER!

When We Lose Our Fear, They Lose Their Power, a grassroots movement led by youth who’ve suffered under IMF-imposed austerity is saying enough is enough.

While the West refers to Kenya as a beacon of democracy, here is the usual police response to Kenyans exercising their democratic right to protest.

In this video, we see police attempting to arrest Mathare Social Justice Centre co-founder Wanjiru Wanjira (@wanjiru_wanjira on IG and @wanjirunjira on TW) last year during a protest about extra-judicial k*llings in poor Kenyan communities.

But, back to what happened just days ago, when thousands of Kenyans flooded Nairobi’s streets on 18 June to reject the International Monetary Fund-backed Finance Bill 2024 featuring tax hikes and austerity measures. The IMF, an institution Western colonisers control, has influenced Kenya’s economic policies since the 1990s. However, the state responded with violence, deploying tear gas and water cannons and arresting more than 300. Similarly, during demonstrations against Finance Bill 2023, police k*lled more than 50 protesters.