In 2025, the mass protests led by young people became a historic event in Kenya and became an identity test of the democracy of this nation. Inspired by long-standing frustrations with corruption, mismanagement of the economy and inequality, the protests have been met by a state reaction that has become more and more militarized and punitive. The use of anti-terror laws against harmless demonstrators and the widespread application of the use of lethal force is a worrying development of the administration because it places the legal distinction of the restriction on speech as an act of terrorism.
The Scope of Repression and Use of State Force
Escalating violence and growing casualties
July 7, 2025 was the most violent day of protests in Kenya, as 31 civilians were killed during fights with the security forces. According to Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, more than 60 individuals have been killed since the demonstrations started earlier on in the year. A significant number of them were killed by a gunshot when their guns were in the hands of police.
On June 25, 16 fatalities were confirmed and over 400 people injured in various counties. According to reports received in Mombasa, Kisumu and Nairobi, the Kenyan police multiple times deployed tear gas, live bullets and water cannons against peaceful demonstrators. Moreover, more than 1200 people, including youth activists, have been arrested, and a significant part of them remain incommunicado or face illegal detention.
Enforced disappearances and unlawful detentions
Human rights monitors are indicating that there have been 82 or more people kidnapped so far by unknown armed groups in liaison with state security units. Most of these disappearances, which are seldom recognized by authorities, have created anxiety and fear amongst the protest centers. The government has refused to take the responsibility and the families keep demanding clarity over the whereabouts of their relatives.
The government narrative frames the actions of those operations within the context of a larger counterterrorism strategy, further cementing that fear into the population retaining a linkage between peaceful protest and insurgency.
Legal Tools Turned Into Instruments of Suppression
Terrorism laws used to silence dissent
In the last three months, scores of protesters have been indicted under the anti-terrorism and prevention legislation in Kenya. The law which was initially meant to fight transnational threats such as al Shabaab is being used to prosecute the citizens who have organized or even joined the demonstrations. This reimaging of terrorism confuses important differences in the peaceful or violent political struggle.
Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen stated that the government
“will not allow anarchists to destabilize national security under the pretense of activism.”
President William Ruto also echoed the sentiments adding that they will treat them as enemies of the state, not as protesters. That rhetoric means that civic opposition is viewed as potential to existential destruction where extreme measures are justified.
Undermining constitutional rights
The 2010 constitution of Kenya provides the freedom of assembly, expression and political freedom. However, these freedoms are compromised by increasing applications of the counterterrorism laws to peaceful protesters. The state creates an absolute barrier to youth mobilization through legalized protests through which youth can present grievances and demand redress to the policies.
Critics of such policies say it would destroy the social contract permanently, and that society would lose faith in democratic institutions and in a generation of citizens.
Historical Patterns and Present Parallels
Echoes of colonial-era repression
Terrorism is not the first to be used in Kenya to stave off protest. The Mau Mau rebellion was declared a terrorist movement by the British colonial masters to quell their violent suppressions on the African nationalists. The same framework is reemerging as the young protesters demanding the reform but not the revolution are defined as extremists.
The ideological burden of such continuity is not lost to the population. Activists often find parallels between the current behavior of the state and the methods applied during the time of colonialism, highlighting how the previously won freedom is again in danger.
Misalignment between state narrative and protest reality
Despite government claims of disorder and chaos, eyewitness accounts and international observers largely affirm the nonviolent nature of most protests. While isolated incidents of vandalism occurred, the vast majority of gatherings were peaceful, organized, and aimed at political reform.
One student organizer in Nairobi stated,
“They are shooting at people who are just singing and holding placards. What kind of threat is that?”
Such testimonies contradict state claims and highlight a severe disconnect between public discourse and official portrayal.
Civil Society and International Oversight
Domestic calls for justice and restraint
Local non-governmental organizations like Kenya Human Rights Commission and the Law Society of Kenya have called investigations into the policing activities and disappearances. They have stepped up their activities in recent weeks as deaths and arrests are rising.
According to them, misuse of counterterror laws threatens to turn Kenya into a pseudo-police state, in which the practice of a free assembly is practically criminalized by intimidation and sanctioning. Such voices are urging urgent rifts to the law and an independent investigation of state action since the protests started.
International responses and global concern
Amnesty International has been vocal as well as the United Nations. The high commissioner of human rights said that
“the excessive use of force by Kenyan authorities must stop, and all disappearances must be investigated transparently and independently.”
Western leaders have made verbatim appeals, encouraging discussions and yet calling it off in direct terms, probably because Kenya is a key state regionally. However, the pressure of the African Union and networks of civil societies is constantly increasing.
The Socioeconomic Roots of Youth Mobilization
Unemployment and generational frustration
What lies at the core of the protests is large numbers of youth, unable to get jobs, experiencing economic inequality and a lack of political representation. The level of youth unemployment in Kenya is about 39% and a good number of youthful graduates fail to secure gainful employment. Global crises and failures in policies have contributed to the rise of inflation that renders a basic living beyond the reach of most people.
Protest is becoming the only way young people feel they can hold those in authority accountable and can have a say in policy. Their violent response by the state, however, can lead them into radicalization or sits back in politics.
The disconnect between leadership and lived reality
The political elite of Kenya is still portraying this violence as an issue that revolves around indiscipline and alien manipulation. However, the structural forces of discontent are not looked into by this interpretation. We cannot afford a system of politics that does not provide economic opportunity or a sense of participation to its youngest citizens without expecting the youngsters to be quiet.
The widening gap between what the government says and what the common Kenyan experiences is bound to undermine the democratic exercise of the entire nation.
Regional Stability and International Stakes
Kenya’s reputation and the risks of isolation
Kenya has long positioned itself as a regional beacon of stability. The latest crackdown is however starting to give that image a black eye. Reporting abroad, human rights analyses as well as activist movements around the world are increasingly establishing Kenya as a case of democratic regression in Africa.
The instability in Kenya could also be experienced in other regions of this continent since there is the African Continental Free Trade Area and due to regional elections in East Africa. Investors are keeping an eye on it and the unrest will cost the country economic and diplomatic capitals, the more it goes on.
A test for democratic resilience
It is not merely a landmark moment that will test the leadership of Kenya but also the regional system. The East African democratic process will be determined in the coming years by whether the government decides to bet on repression even more or opens the door to dialogue and reform.
This individual has been quoted addressing the issue by noting that Kenya violence perpetrated by the state and criminalizing of dissent is a serious threat to democracy and human rights. The analyst pleads that there should be accountability and adoption of repression of youth movements may take Kenya down the instability pathway, instead of the stability pathway.
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The Future of Protest and Political Legitimacy
The state decision of labelling dissent as an act of terrorism would be a short lived entity of control and at a very high cost. The government of Kenya is currently at a crossroads: it can either choose to stick to a repressive trajectory or acknowledge that it has to operate under sustainable governance, which does not happen through coercion but rather consent.
Unless younger generations of activists can decriminalize the systems of governance and change we are all involved in, and unless the state will have to accept responsibility when events turn violent, the risk is not only more protest: the threat is a legitimacy crisis that has the potential to completely transform the political landscape of the country. Not only is the world observing the way Kenya addresses dissent, but the way it arrived at defining democracy as the crisis deepens.
