Kenyans commemorate the protest victims’ deaths with a concert

To honor the more than thirty-six individuals slain in recent anti-government rallies, hundreds of Kenyans flocked to a concert on Sunday in Nairobi, the country’s capital, chanting and dancing.

Beginning on June 18, demonstrators demanded that President William Ruto resign and that the proposed tax increases be abandoned, resulting in at least 39 fatalities.

“The protests have made the government listen now.” Activist Boniface Mwangi, who was present at the event, said, “So, we are kind of happy, but there’s also a lot of sadness because so many people died for the government to listen.”

“So, we’re also mourning, and we’re telling the families of those who lost their loved ones, we’re with you, and we shall honor their sacrifice.”

Youth carried signs that said “RIP Comrades” and “We promise we’ll keep fighting” at the local musicians’ event in Nairobi’s expansive Uhuru Park, as the audience yelled “Ruto must go.” Some others drove crosses into the earth.

Last month, as the demonstrations grew more intense, Ruto axed the budget bill, which would have added a number of additional taxes that Kenyans claim would have increased the country’s already exorbitant cost of living.

In order to close a budget deficit brought on by the cancellation of the tax increases that were supposed to raise $2.7 billion, Ruto also suggested other austerity measures on Friday. These included cutting back on the number of his advisors and dissolving 47 state enterprises.

The concert on Sunday took place on July 7, Saba Saba Day, which commemorates the day in 1990 when comparable demonstrations started and ultimately compelled the late leader Daniel Arap Moi’s administration to bring the nation back to multi-party politics.