• At police stations, young lawyers were at hand to battle for the freedom of the arrested protesters.
• On the concern raised by the Data Commissioner on the sharing of the personal numbers, Ngugi believes the protesters are justified.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
Armed with creative minds, versatile social media skills, smartphones and well-wishers support, young people poured into the streets of Nairobi on Tuesday to protest against Finance Bill, 2024.
The agitation is not just about the total rejection of the Finance Bill, 2024, but it will be a sustained political consciousness to defend the Constitution, planners of the protests told the Star.
While the phrase “revolution will be televised” has remained largely a cliché in social media spaces, the ongoing protests have breathed life to it. The protesters tapped into social media platforms not just to plan the demos and update the progress, but also to solicit solidarity and call out those standing in their way.
Some planners said the urgency with which they are engaging does not regard the norm—and the law— “because we feel the very law is being used by our oppressors to their advantage when it favours them”.
“We don’t care. We will not just share the phone number of the person standing in our way, including police officers or politicians, but also those of their wives and children. It time to do the right thing,” Shifra, a third year actuarial science student in one of the universities, told the Star.
She said using technology, they can verify the identity of a person they target, ask their numbers on social media and share them.
“I sent money to various MPs and police officers to verify their contacts before sharing out their numbers with our comrades," she said.
Hanisa, one of the organisers of the march, told the Star she has been speaking out on many issues affecting the public, starting with the floods and management of public funds, and this saw well-wishers send her money to facilitate the protests.
The well-wishers, locally and abroad, sent her money to take care of the fares of the protesters and for things like T-shirts, placards and whistles.
“TikTok was like the place of meeting. Many users showed eagerness to participate and it was organic. I only announced that I was to give people bus fare. They were to book a bus as a group to town and they would find me at Nation Centre so I pay up,” she said.
A scene was captured on video when a plain-clothes police officer accosted her and snatched a bag from her hands.
Moderick is another TikToker who hyped his audience to speak up against the Bill and governance in the country.
"It is not just the Finance Bill, but an awakening that has not been seen before in this country. You will see our generation takes a hard stance on issues affecting society, particularly bad governance. We don't care about tribe or party, just uphold the Constitution," he said.
At police stations, young lawyers were at hand to battle for the freedom of the arrested protesters.
When Kamau Ngugi, Defenders Coalition executive director, paid cash bail to free some of the protesters detained on Tuesday, most of them refused to be freed alone. They said they would only walk out of the cells when everybody who was arrested in the protests was released.
Ngugi noted that most of the young protesters were well-exposed and seemingly from well-to-do families. He said at the police station, most of them rejected efforts by their parents to engage police officers to free them.
“I was at Central police station and I witnessed young people engaging in phenomenal solidarity. Most of them had family members waiting outside to pay their bail but they refused to be released alone. They wanted to be together just as they were singing liberation songs in the cells,” Ngugi said.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna told the Star he was proud with the evolving political consciousness of Kenyans and the boldness of the young generation in fighting for their rights.
“I was extremely proud to be Kenyan yesterday. I honestly feel the consciousnesses of the country, particularly the young people, have been awakened in a significant way,” he said.
“I have been telling them they are more powerful than they know and I think they have now seen it. What they do with that power going forward is entirely up to them.”
On the concern raised by the Data Commissioner on the sharing of the personal numbers, Ngugi believes the protesters are justified.
"The Data Commissioner is eager to speak when the law is favouring the rich and powerful but when the very law is turned against Kenyans, they are mute."
"Where are they when KRA and telecommunication companies invade our privacy in sharing our contacts and financial details?"