'This must stop': 2024 Gen Z protest families plan anniversary demos
National
By
Wanjiku Kariuki
| Jun 18, 2026
Siaya Governor James Orengo (center) accompanied by People's Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua, lawyer Gitobu Imanyara, former CJ Willy Mutunga, activists and families of victims of 2024 Gen-Z protests at Jogoo House on June 18, 2024. [Kanyiri Wahito. Standard]
Families of youths killed during the 2024 anti-tax protests have notified police of plans to hold nationwide demonstrations next week to mark the second anniversary of the June 25 unrest.
The families delivered the notification in Nairobi to Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, saying the commemorations seek to honour more than 60 people killed during the protests and press for accountability.
They maintained that the right to picket remains protected under the Constitution and urged police to avoid excessive force during the planned gatherings.
“You cannot compensate families and at the same time continue killing more people. This must stop,” one family representative said.
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“There should be dialogue between the police and the people to create mutual understanding on what ‘utumishi kwa wote’ truly means,” another representative noted.
The families urged police to refrain from using teargas and live bullets on demonstrators, warning that such actions escalate tensions.
They also called for prosecution of officers implicated in the killings, arguing that compensation alone does not deliver justice.
“Police killings have become too much. Killing innocent lives is a crime, and every police officer who has unlawfully pulled the trigger on an innocent Kenyan should be held accountable and face the full force of the law,” another representative explained.
The group is seeking the declaration of June 25 as a public holiday, permission to lay flowers at Parliament Buildings and the construction of a memorial at the legislature site.
They stressed that sustained dialogue between police and citizens is needed to prevent a repeat of the 2024 violence and urged participants in the commemorations to remain peaceful.
Human rights activists and political leaders accompanied the families, including Siaya Governor James Orengo, former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, former Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana, Peoples Liberation Party leader Martha Karua, Muslims for Human Rights director Khalif Khalifa and lawyer Gitobu Imanyara.
The leaders backed calls for accountability, justice for victims and protection of constitutional rights including peaceful assembly.
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