Right to protest: Why Kenyans must refuse to sympathize and move on over Gen Z killings, police brutality

There is no comment that has made Kenyans as mad as the comment made in parliament by a member of parliament on Gen Z killing as detailed by BBC “Blood Parliament .
The callous and insensitive statement by Mandera North MP “We sympathise and move on.”
“Mr Speaker, there is this issue that BBC released about Blood Parliament and killings that happened over Gen Z. Mr Speaker, these are issues that we dealt with as a nation and moved on.”
“People have been killed in many instances, we sympathise and move on. These people from the BBC should go and report the killings on the Gaza strip. In Kenya we have no problem, we solved the Gen Z problem.” the MP is quoted saying at the floor or the house on Wednesday, 30 April.
Joseph Kariuki.Photo Courtesy
This just shows how insensitive our political class is to the masses they purport to represent. Little wonder that when their own was gunned down last night Kenyans seemed to “mourn and move on.”
Herein lies the danger of sweeping down the carpet serious violations against the vulnerable. It is heartbreaking that even the 100s of families that were killed by police in 2023 during the Maandamano protests have been forgotten.
In Kisumu where we have filed a case on behalf of 28 families killed and others maimed by police are yet to move on. Sadly our media in many instances will not stick long enough with those families as the BBC did with Gen Zs deaths, mostly we take these cases as isolated incidences.
Deaths that even happened as far back as 2017 like the Baby Pendo case and others are still stuck in court, with the politicians having ‘ moved on’ while the family of Baby Pendo and many others are still waiting for justice.
The 11 police officers are expected to take plea on Monday, 5 May but the police leadership has moved all the way to the Supreme Court to stop this case on command responsibility.
Police killings during protests is a serious threat to the country. It is a threat even to the politicians who have zero empathy for families battling trauma for years with no justice in sight.
Today marks 8 years since I joined International Justice Mission IJM Kenya . In these many years I have met many families that are still mourning loved ones who were killed by police and others who have been forcefully disappeared. I have rallied many journalists, communities and leaders to take action against police abuse of power and seek accountability.
Many have taken up the fight to the screen and newspaper pages. Public narrative around extrajudical killings and enforced Disappearances has significantly changed and many are calling for accountability.
We have fought in courts and won many battles to protect the vulnerable from police violence and we have lost some battles. I have been in high stake advocacy campaigns that have seen changes in laws and even implementation of many other good laws that are aimed at protecting Kenyans from violence.
When I see such wins like courts declaring police orders on protests illegal and awarding Kenyans for police brutally, I am hopeful that we as citizens can push the government to reform. Sadly in many instances we pay for these wins with our own lives like is the case with my colleague at International Justice Mission Willie Kimani and many others.
Joseph Kariuki is a Journalist (International Justice Mission IJM Kenya).