Police block Gen Z protest victims, families from marching to State House
Nairobi
By
Emmanuel Kipchumba
| Dec 22, 2025
Police on Monday blocked a group of activists, families and survivors of the 2024–2025 Gen Z protests from marching to State House to demand justice, accountability and reparations for victims of the demonstrations.
The march, which organisers said was meant to mark 550 days without justice for those killed, injured or disappeared during the protests, began peacefully at Jevanjee Gardens in Nairobi’s central business district.
The group, carrying flowers and Kenyan flags, walked through the city centre without interruption before police stopped them at the intersection of Mamlaka Road and Nyerere Avenue, not far from State House.
Anti-riot police blocked the road and lobbed teargas canisters, forcing the demonstrators to disperse.
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According to the organisers, the march was intended to culminate in a petition to President William Ruto, seeking audience to present the families' grievances and push for justice for victims of the protests that happened across the country in 2024 and again in 2025.
According to a report by Amnesty International Kenya, across both waves of protests, the excessive use of force by security agencies resulted in at least 128 deaths, more than 3,000 arrests and over 83 cases of enforced disappearances.
Addressing the press, the protesters accused the government of lacking the goodwill to get them justice and ensure those found culpable of killing the youth were held accountable.
Rose Eseme, a member of the Mothers of Victims and Survivors Network, spoke emotionally about the loss of children during the protests.
“I am pleading with the government to just let us demonstrate...We are seeking justice for our children, and we have never gotten justice. We ask the government to help us get justice," said Eseme.
She said families had been left to grieve without support, even as some cases dragged on in court.
“We are not doing this because we want to. It is because we lost our loved ones and nobody seems to care about ensuring we get justice and that people are held accountable.
"Some of the cases got to court, but we are also concerned because they are delaying. We want the cases to be expedited so that we know we are getting justice for our children,” Eseme said.
Abubakar Ochieng, who said he was shot twice in the thigh during the 2024 protests, said his life has not been easy since the incident that occurred in parliament.
“I have been in the house for one year and three months without doing any work, yet I am a parent with responsibilities to feed my family,” he said.
He appealed to the President to acknowledge the pain of victims and survivors.
“I would like to plead with the President that the same way he says he fears God, loves women and the youth, we are the youth who were shot and some of our colleagues were killed. Let him call us and have a conversation with us, and apologise,” Ochieng said.