They were not politicians. They were just young Kenyans who wanted a better country. Today, their mothers still set a plate for them at dinner, but the chairs remains empty.

According to Amnesty International's 2026 State of the World's Human Rights report, the year 2025 became the darkest year for Kenyan youths in political affairs. The report, which was widely covered by The Star, Citizen TV and Daily Nation, described a pattern of violent repression against youth-led movements that shocked the world.

It started with hope. Young Kenyans, mostly Gen Z, organising on social media. They did not have a leader. They did not have money. They had only a flag and a dream that Kenya could be better. But the state responded with bullets and teargas.

Confirmed Deaths - What Each Strong Source Says

According to The Star and Amnesty International's 2026 report, at least 19 people were killed on June 25, 2025, when police deployed force against protesters marking the anniversary of the 2024 Finance Bill demonstrations.

At the same time, according to reports by NTV Kenya and Citizen TV, the International Crisis Group reported that on that same day, at least 16 people were killed, primarily by police bullets, in 27 of Kenya's 47 counties. Further, the report claim that over 400 people were injured. According to KTN News live footage, downtown Nairobi looked like a war zone.

Reports by the Daily Nation and The Star further claimed that, at least 38 more people died and over 500 were injured during Saba Saba Day protests on July 7, 2025. That day, Kenyans came out to remember the fight for multiparty democracy.

On the same note, the Star and People Daily, CIVICUS Monitor further documented that at least 65 deaths and more than 600 injuries linking to June and July 2025 protests combined were confirmed. More than 1,500 people were arrested on those protests.

Reports by Citizen Digital and NTV Kenya, also aired the death of a young mask vendor, Boniface Kariuki, who later became one of the faces of this violence. He was not a protester. He was a bystander in Nairobi, selling masks to feed his family. But he was shot at close range by a police officer during the 2025 protests and died two weeks later.

Later, a report by Daily Nation and KTN News, told of a blogger, Albert Ojwang, who also lost his life leaving behind a wife and a young daughter. The 31-year-old teacher and blogger died in police custody between June 7 and 8, 2025, after being arrested for allegedly insulting a senior police officer on social media.

According to Human Rights Watch report released on September 2026 and aired on NTV Kenya, six people have been killed and dozens injured in attacks on political gatherings in recent months.

Nembure - The Most Recent Wound

According to TV47 and Citizen Digital, chaos erupted when hundreds of youth tried to access Nembure Stadium where the deputy president Kithure Kindiki was holding a political meeting.

From the shared report, police officers who were providing security tried to block them at the gate, a move that triggered the youths to respond with throwing stones. Following the response from the youths, police officers responded by lobbing teargas canisters.

From a footage by Citizen TV, shoes and caps were seen scattered on the field after the stampede.

Reports by KTN News and The Star further claim that, families in Embu spent the night of September 12 searching for their loved ones. Mothers made phone calls that were not answered as fathers walked from hospital to hospital, from Runyenjes to Embu Level 5 Hospital, looking for their sons.

Later, according to a report by Daily Nation, Deputy President Kindiki expressed regret on his social media pages. He argued that UDA condemns violence and stands for issue-based politics.

Meanwhile, on Monday, September 14, 2026, President William Ruto launched development projects in Kisumu. According to The Star and KTN News, he launched the 12km Rabuor-Chiga road and commissioned the Sh8.4 billion Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Project in Nyamasaria.

But while leaders cut ribbons in Kisumu, a family in Embu is planning a funeral for a young man who went to a political meeting on Saturday morning and never came back home that evening.

The pain is the same everywhere, from Nairobi to Kisumu to Embu. A mother cooks food and waits for her son to return from a political rally. The food gets cold. The phone does not ring. Later, she goes to the mortuary and finds her son's body tagged as unknown.

Kenya's youth deserve to live. They deserve to go to a political rally and come back home alive to their mothers. How many more dreams must be lost?