President Ruto, Stop this Madness, Kenyans Deserve Better

July 7, 2025, was another of growing list of sad days for Kenya.

In the morning of that day, in a quiet neighborhood in one of Nairobi’s satellite towns, it was nice and calm, the birds were chirping and sheep bleating. The children were playing and singing, occasionally reciting the alphabet and counting 1 to 100. Many people didn’t go to work nor did children go to school. The police had erected roadblocks to barricade the city to stop protesters from going to the central business district.

Then at around 1pm, it all changed. Suddenly the sounds of gunshots started filling the air. And this continued into the night.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg.

By the end of that day, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) had reported that at least 11 people were killed, and scores others injured.

The direction that country has taken is dreadfully disturbing. In just two years, the country has gone from a shining example of how you can work through your fledgling democracy to providing a guide on how to suppress the people.

A demonstrator lies on the road, watching clashes with police as a fire burns, at the “Saba Saba People’s March” anti-government protest in Nairobi, Kenya, on 7th July, 2025. PICTURE: Reuters/Thomas Mukoya

All over social media there were videos of shootings, killings, a killer squad of masked men in unmarked Subaru SUVs blatantly shooting at protesters, the wanton destruction of property in many places by looters and even shooting of a man who just went to the local shop to buy food for his family. Businesses that have been built from scratch with blood, sweat and tears went up in smoke. Then there were those who were not law enforcement, but armed with crude weapons who were breaking into people’s homes.

This is not what Kenya is known for.

We have been the country that refugees from neighboring countries run to. We’ve been a destination of choice for tourists, investors, international NGOs, even African Americans looking for a new place to live in Africa, and lots more. We have been known to be very hospitable, full of smiles, and a people that help one another.

Faith Kipyegon over the years | Photo courtesy Carol Radull @CarolRadull

 We’re known for being a country of champions. I mean, only 24 hours earlier, Nairobi hosted a beautiful marathon. And elsewhere Faith Kipyegon broke her own record, setting a new world record.

So, how can a city host a beautiful marathon while at the same time allow goons to invade private property and disrupt a meeting held to discuss how to commemorate a day that symbolizes the struggle for expanding the democratic space, calling for an end to extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and excessive use of force among other violations?How can a city host a beautiful marathon one day and turn into a ghost town barricaded from its citizens the next day like a scene from a dystopian movie?How can a city go from the whistle that set the runners off to sounds of gunshots the next day?How can the police go from maintaining order on a marathon route so runners can run freely and safely to being instruments of oppression the next day?The democratic and civic space in Kenya has dramatically narrowed, if it still exists. Corruption is running amok. Youth have no employment. The economy is nothing to write home about. The poor working class are overtaxed and the national debt is growing by the trillions.

Some politicians are now feebly calling for “an intergenerational dialogue.” I’m sorry, these are not intergenerational problems. These are bad governance, corruption and repression problems.

We need to take back our country. We need to take back our rights.

President Ruto, power is in your hands, please stop this madness!

We want our country back.