\n<\/p>\n
Event comes as young Kenyans, frustrated over economy, corruption and police brutality, are taking to the streets.<\/em><\/p>\n Kenya is marking its anniversary of pro-democracy rallies, with police blocking main roads in the capital, Nairobi, anticipating protests, after last month\u2019s demonstrations descended into violent clashes.<\/p>\n People rally each year on July 7 to mark the date in 1990 when Kenyans demanded a return to multiparty democracy after years of autocratic rule by then-President Daniel arap Moi.<\/p>\n The protest is called \u201cSaba Saba\u201d, meaning \u201cseven seven\u201d in Kiswahili, because of the date.<\/p>\n Kenya antiriot police guard parliament buildings in Nairobi, Kenya, July 7, 2025 [Brian Inganga\/AP Photo]<\/p>\n Monday\u2019s event comes as young Kenyans \u2013 angry over economic stagnation, corruption and repeated acts of police brutality \u2013 are once again engaging in protests that also saw looting and violence, leaving dozens dead and thousands of businesses destroyed.<\/p>\n Protesters accuse the authorities of paying armed vandals to discredit their movement, while the government has compared the demonstrations with an \u201cattempted coup\u201d.<\/p>\n On Monday, the streets of Nairobi were eerily quiet after police mounted roadblocks on the main roads, preventing most people from entering the centre, with many businesses closed for the day.<\/p>\n The government is committed to protecting life and property during protests, Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said on his X account on Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cOur security agencies are on high alert to deal decisively with criminals and other elements of ill intent who may seek to infiltrate peaceful processions to cause havoc, mayhem, or destruction of property,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Leading activist Hanifa Aden wrote on X: \u201cThe police getting rained on as they block every road while we stay at home warming our beds.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTotal shutdown and forced holiday executed by the state,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n On Sunday afternoon, a news conference by the Kenyan Human Rights Commission calling for an end to \u201cenforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings\u201d was broken up when men, some armed with sticks, forced their way into the compound.<\/p>\n Social media and rising economic expectations have created anger at inequalities in a country where about 80 percent are trapped in informal, poorly paid jobs.<\/p>\n The death of Albert Ojwang, a teacher and blogger, in police custody in June gave impetus to protests, with the government-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reporting 19 deaths across the country during demonstrations last month.<\/p>\n Prosecutors approved murder charges against six people, including three police officers, over Ojwang\u2019s death. All six pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n At least 80 people have died in protests since June 2024 and dozens detained illegally.<\/p>\n Politically, President William Ruto \u2013 elected in 2022 \u2013 still holds a strong position, having forged an alliance with the main opposition leader, Raila Odinga, leaving no clear challenger ahead of the next vote in 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Event comes as young Kenyans, frustrated over economy, corruption and police brutality, are taking to the streets. Kenya is marking its anniversary of pro-democracy rallies, with police blocking main roads in the capital, Nairobi, anticipating protests, after last month\u2019s demonstrations descended into violent clashes. People rally each year on July 7 to mark the date<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[3045,3042,3044,3043,150,3046,494,3041],"class_list":{"0":"post-10186","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics","8":"tag-anniversary","9":"tag-blocked","10":"tag-capital","11":"tag-kenyas","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-prodemocracy","14":"tag-protests","15":"tag-roads"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}