Nairobi, Kenya – One year on, the families are still counting their dead. On the anniversary of Kenya's deadliest protests in decades, they laid flowers on the barbed wire. A symbol of defiance, but also a grim tally: at least 50 people shot dead by police during demonstrations against a draconian finance bill.
The UK Foreign Office confirmed it is 'monitoring the situation closely'. Close enough to see the blood, apparently, but not close enough to stop it. The protests erupted in June last year after President William Ruto's administration pushed through a controversial tax law.
What began as a youth-led movement against the cost of living crisis spiralled into a nationwide crackdown. Sources on the ground confirm that police used live rounds on unarmed demonstrators. The interior ministry claims 'isolated incidents', but documents obtained by this reporter tell a different story: a coordinated policy of shooting to kill.
The UK maintains close ties with Nairobi, a key ally in the war on terror. But as the Foreign Office issues its carefully worded statements, families are burying their children. One mother, her voice cracking, held up a photo of her son, a 22-year-old student.
'He was just asking for bread. They gave him bullets.' The UK's quiet diplomacy has done little to stem the violence.
Human rights groups accuse the Kenyan government of using British-supplied equipment to quash dissent. The Foreign Office denies complicity. But as the sun sets on another anniversary, flowers on barbed wire are the only tribute the state has allowed.
