The current political climate is as uncertain as the ground was on 16th July at around 9.30 pm when a 4.2 magnitude tremor shook the country. President William Ruto has made efforts to address some of Gen Z’s demands, including sacking the Cabinet and promising to fire permanent secretaries once the new cabinet is in place. He has also called for multi-stakeholder meetings that are currently underway. However, Gen Z remains nonplussed and is planning further demonstrations.

Fueling the continuation of these protests are incidents of police brutality and abductions, such as that of high-profile journalist Macharia Gaitho. Although police claimed his arrest was a case of mistaken identity, Gaitho had recently written a series of articles on the revolution, raising suspicions that he was the real target. 

Francis Gaitho, the person the police claim they were trying to arrest, said he would present himself at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters. He was arraigned in court on Thursday and X users used the hashtag #freegaitho to draw attention to his court hearing. 

Many people have been missing for weeks, and others have suddenly disappeared. The count of such cases is currently unknown. Some are suspected to be in police custody, but their whereabouts are unknown.  Additionally, the discovery of nine bodies at a dump site known as ‘Kware’ and a subsequent botched police operation, which led to the arrest of a suspect that many believe is not the real perpetrator, has led to further doubts that serious action is being taken to deal with police brutality. 

In the aftermath, the Kware area was set on fire, adding to the suspicion that evidence was being obliterated. Then, the DCI released a statement saying they visited the suspect’s home and collected more evidence, which included several bloodied items, raising the question of why they hadn’t collected such crucial evidence the first time around. When the suspect was arraigned in court, he claimed he had been tortured and forced to admit to the murders by the police. 

Gunshot victims are also reported to be dying at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) due to negligence by staff. User @honeyfarsafi, who has raised KSh 31.5 million for injured and dead protesters, informed followers that when she visited KNH, she found Abdi Khadhir, a protester who had been shot, had died largely due to negligence on the part of staff. She asked the remaining patients who were there as a result of the protests to transfer to private hospitals for better care.

Online, the most outspoken critics of the Ruto Government, who are also perceived to be the ‘leaders’ of the leaderless, faceless, tribeless movement, are divided. Once a united front to contend with, they now have differing opinions. User @Osama_otero, who was abducted at the start of the protests, agreed to host the President’s X-Space and has since been castigated online as a betrayer of the cause. User @khalifkairo recently asked people not to demonstrate, saying there was a need to retreat and re-strategise. As a result, he is now attacked. However, he has now been joined in that chorus by the likes of activist Boniface Mwangi, who says it is not a good idea to protest on Thursday (18-07-2024) and that some of the fliers circulating calling for protests are planted by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) to incite people.

The truth is that the protests have now been infiltrated by goons who are robbing the protesters or innocent bystanders. They also break into shops and loot. Police brutality has also not decreased. A journalist, Wanjeri Kariuki, was shot thrice in Nakuru on Tuesday while covering the demonstrations, and other protesters were also shot in various towns. A press conference held by Azimio la Umoja’s Kalonzo Musyoka came to an abrupt end after it was infiltrated and disrupted by goons on Wednesday. 

Those who were arrested for demonstrating on Tuesday this week claim to have been badly beaten up while in custody, and their valuables, like expensive phones, were destroyed. They also claim that, when they appeared in court, they were charged with drunk and disorderly behaviour and given bonds of KSh 500.

 An X-space was held on 18th July by X user @sonko_254 titled ‘Occupy Uhuru Park #RutoMustGo’ and discussed a way forward with the protests, but as with all X spaces, discussing tactics online where intelligence agencies are listening is never a good idea. The number of listeners in such spaces has also decreased dramatically, indicating the fragmentation of Gen Z. A fact that the government has noticed.

Additionally, at the moment, no one is quite sure whether opposition leader Raila Odinga will align himself with President Ruto and form a government of national unity. What is clear, though, is that most Gen Zs are vehemently opposed to this alliance. The truth will only emerge once the cabinet is elected. 

It is, therefore, clear that while growing discontent and the calls for Ruto to go are increasing in crescendo as the pleas of the demonstrators appear to fall on deaf ears without being addressed, the protesters themselves are slowly falling apart. A rudderless, leaderless centre cannot hold.