Kenya's capital, Nairobi, was under a security lockdown yesterday as police clashed with protesters demonstrating against a controversial finance bill. The protests, which have left at least five dead and dozens injured, have drawn comparisons to the violent suppression of dissent during the British colonial era.
Street barricades and a heavy police presence brought large parts of the city to a standstill. Water cannons and tear gas were deployed as the mainly youthful protesters threw stones and chanted slogans against President William Ruto's government. The unrest comes amid a broader economic crisis, with the new bill introducing tax hikes on essential goods and services, including bread, cooking oil, and mobile money transfers.
Independent observers and human rights groups have expressed alarm at the force used by the authorities. Amnesty International’s Kenya chapter condemned what it called a “disproportionate and brutal response,” noting that live ammunition had been used against unarmed protesters. The National Police Service has defended its actions, stating that officers acted to prevent the destruction of property and to maintain public order.
The current situation cannot be separated from the historical context. For many Kenyans, images of police firing on civilians evoke the memory of the colonial administration’s violent crackdown during the Mau Mau uprising in the 1950s. Britain’s counter-insurgency operations then involved detention camps, torture, and extrajudicial killings. That legacy of state brutality remains a raw nerve in Kenya’s political psyche.
President Ruto, in a televised address, called for calm and urged dialogue. He described the protesters as a “small group of criminals” seeking to destabilise the country. But the opposition has accused his government of authoritarianism, pointing to the arrest of several opposition MPs and journalists covering the protests.
The international community has reacted with concern. The United Kingdom, Kenya’s former colonial power, urged restraint on both sides, while the United States and the European Union called for an impartial investigation into the deaths. African Union Commission Chair Moussa Faki also appealed for de-escalation.
The parallels with Kenya’s colonial history are unlikely to have been lost on the protesters, many of whom are too young to remember the 2007-08 post-election violence but are acutely aware of the state’s historical propensity for force. The economic grievances driving the protests are immediate but the underlying question about the nature of Kenyan governance is profound. As long as the state responds to peaceful dissent with lethal force, the ghosts of the colonial past will continue to haunt the present.
