{"id":54650,"date":"2025-06-25T13:45:22","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T13:45:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/running-battles-as-protesters-face-off-with-police-in-kenya-s-june-anniversary\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T13:25:53","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T13:25:53","slug":"running-battles-as-protesters-face-off-with-police-in-kenya-s-june-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/running-battles-as-protesters-face-off-with-police-in-kenya-s-june-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"Running battles as protesters face off with police in Kenya\u2019s June anniversary demos"},"content":{"rendered":"

The day began with heavy police deployment in Nairobi and other urban centres, where key roads were barricaded and access to the Central Business District (CBD) severely restricted.<\/p>\n

Authorities sealed off all routes leading to the State House using razor wire, while Parliament buildings were heavily fortified. Commuters were forced to disembark at designated drop-off points far from the city centre as security forces tried to pre-empt disruptions.<\/p>\n

Despite the heightened security, protests erupted in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, and several other towns. Predominantly led by Gen Z demonstrators, the rallies drew thousands, many dressed in black and waving Kenyan flags, chanting calls for justice, transparency, and good governance.<\/p>\n

What began last year as resistance to new tax laws has morphed into a broader citizens\u2019 movement demanding structural reforms. The protests, now in their second year, have gained momentum, drawing support from across the political and generational divide.<\/p>\n

In Nairobi\u2019s CBD, prominent figures such as MP Babu Owino and former Chief Justice David Maraga joined demonstrators, further energising the crowds. <\/p>\n

The mood was defiant yet hopeful, until riot police intervened. Tear gas canisters were fired to disperse the swelling crowds, affecting even humanitarian spaces, including a medical camp near Jamia Mosque.<\/p>\n

Scenes of chaos and confrontation mixed with solidarity circulated widely on social media. Livestreams captured moments of unity and police aggression, galvanising more supporters across the country, until a government-ordered media blackout came into effect.<\/p>\n

The Communications Authority of Kenya issued a directive Wednesday afternoon, instructing all television and radio broadcasters to cease live coverage of the demonstrations. The regulator accused media houses of airing content that could incite public disorder.<\/p>\n

Despite the information clampdown, protesters vowed to continue demonstrating, citing a moral obligation to honour the memory of those killed in last year\u2019s protests. <\/p>\n

Human rights groups say at least 60 people lost their lives during the 2024 unrest, which reached its peak when protesters stormed Parliament over the Finance Bill.<\/p>\n

\"Kenya<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kenya witnessed a fresh wave of unrest on Wednesday as thousands of protesters flooded the streets to mark the first anniversary of the deadly June 2024 demonstrations against the Finance Bill. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000089808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-54650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000089808,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/512678847_122115515522896378_7984381446629032004_new.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/512678847_122115515522896378_7984381446629032004_new.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/512678847_122115515522896378_7984381446629032004_new.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/512678847_122115515522896378_7984381446629032004_new.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/512678847_122115515522896378_7984381446629032004_new.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/512678847_122115515522896378_7984381446629032004_new.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54650\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000089808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54650"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=54650"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=54650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}