The results of a 6-month investigation by Kenya’s Daily Nation and the Netherlands-based research group Bellingcat, published on 15 June, have revealed Kenya’s no longer hidden hand in Sudan’s proxy war. Evidence of Kenyan-labelled ammunition found in Rapid Support Forces (RSF) depots in Khartoum exposes a direct link between Kenya’s Ministry of Defence and the arming of paramilitary groups in Sudan. The country, a close ally and aid beneficiary of the United Arab Emirates is proving to be yet another hub used by the gulf state in furthering its economic interest on the continent at the expense of Africans.

While Kenya has consistently maintained that its role is limited to facilitating dialogue and promoting regional peace, the report’s findings starkly contradict these claims. Instead, the report further proves the extent of the proxy war and its convoluted networks of covert operation, of which the Sudanese people remain on the receiving end of.

It’s a year to the day that Gen Z protesters stormed the Kenyan parliament - and people are back on the streets to mark the occasion.

Rights groups say 60 people were killed in the police crackdown on the protests last year. Their ‘crime’ was to demand a functional and just nation. The initial spark was opposition to planned tax hikes (intended to please the International Monetary Fund). But 25 June 2024 is now seared into the national consciousness as a symbol of state violence and repression. However, it has also become a day symbolic of resistance and of commemoration for the young revolutionaries who gave their lives.

The harsh economic realities that first drove Gen Z onto the streets haven’t improved. Up to a million young people enter the job market in Kenya every year, yet the majority do not secure employment. Healthcare remains largely inaccessible to the majority, and approximately 36% of the population lives in extreme poverty.

Continued….. Meanwhile, the gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ keeps widening, fuelling frustration and unrest.

Kenyan MPs remain some of the world’s highest paid relative to the country’s GDP. They push for higher wages for themselves, despite nearly every corner of the capital Nairobi’s business district - where the parliament sits - reminding them how hard life is for young people: homeless, glue-sniffing, intoxication and begging.

Approximately 75% of Kenya’s population is aged 35 or below. This youthful majority is determined to reclaim the country and steer it onto a path that truly serves and works for the common man. Swipe left to see some images from today’s demonstration and how today, just like a year ago, the protestors are still met with violence instead of solutions.