Kenya: Gen Z protest film draws fire and eyes
The state forbade a public screening of the BBC film but on YouTube it had five million views by Friday.
Christine Mungai
Human rights groups are demanding fresh investigations into the killing of protesters by Kenya’s security forces last June, following this week’s release of a BBC Africa Eye documentary.
Blood Parliament shines the spotlight on members of the security forces — including the police and military — who shot three protesters dead on June 25th 2024, at the height of nationwide demonstrations against a rise in taxes.
The Law Society of Kenya said the documentary had left the country in shock over the “malice, impunity and brutality” with which young Kenyans had been “executed” by state agents. Amnesty International and the Kenya National Human Rights Commission called for fresh investigations.
Kenya government spokesman Isaac Mwaura criticised the documentary as biased, and a legislator, George Kaluma, called for the BBC to be banned in Kenya. Another MP, Bashir Abdullahi, said in Parliament that “people are killed all the time, we sympathise and move on” – prompting online backlash, public outrage and demands for justice.
The BBC said it was forced to cancel a public screening of the documentary on Monday following pressure from the authorities, but the video had already garnered five million views by Friday. The documentary comes just as the government prepares this year’s Finance Bill – promising no new taxes, an apparent attempt to pre-empt a repeat of last year’s protests.
However, the core drivers of youth discontent – poverty, inequality, unemployment and conspicuous consumption by the political elite – have not changed. The streets remain quiet for now, but the air is thick with grief, anger, and the unfinished business of justice.