With almost a year to the first anniversary of the June 25 Anti-Finance Bill Protests, victims have called out President William Ruto for failing to heed the compensation promises he had made.
Antony Chege, a survivor of police brutality during the Gen Z protests, continues to recover from gunshot wounds. He has urged the president to fulfill his promise of compensating victims whose lives have been drastically impacted by the unfortunate events.
The 25-year-old recounted the horrific events that unfolded on June 25, describing what he witnessed as unjust and unfair to youths who were simply championing a better Kenya. According to Chege, police reigned over the youths and killed them mercilessly, equating the deaths to how maize harvesters fell maize stalks during harvesting.
"What I witnessed was out of this world, I thought I was watching a movie, police were killing us like how farmers fall maize stalks during harvesting," Chege noted.
Chege was among thousands of Gen Z protesters who took to the streets to oppose the controversial Finance Bill, which many Kenyans believed would worsen the economic crisis.
The demonstrations, largely peaceful, turned violent when police opened fire on unarmed civilians, leaving several injured and some reportedly dead.
Chege recalled the moment he was hit by a live bullet near Holy Family Basilica. Fortunately for him, he got away with a bullet wound on his leg, but another protester, David Chege, who was standing beside him, lost his life.
"When I saw David Chege, I just feared, I was shocked, and at that moment, while we were running towards Holy Family Basilica, is when I was shot in the leg. At first, I did not feel the gunshot, I came to feel it at Nation Center," Chege narrated.
Since then, his life has taken a drastic turn. After being discharged from the hospital, he has been confined to his home, unable to fend for his family due to the wound.
Barely a month ago, the president had issued an apology to the Kenyan youths over the unfortunate events, but Chege regarded the president's apology as insincere, urging him to match the apology with actions and heed to his promise and compensate those who were affected.
According to Chege, Ruto should apologise to the young Kenyans who lost their lives.
"I didn't accept that apology. There is no way you can ask for an apology from people who are already dead. There are still some stuck in the hospital since then, those are the people he should go and apologise to," the young Kenyan said.
All eyes are now on the government as Kenya gears up for the next budget reading in June. Already, Kenyans have raised alarms over the Finance Bill 2025, terming it a twin to the 2024 Bill that caused chaos in the country.
