STATEMENT BY H.E. DR. STEPHEN KALONZO MUSYOKA, EGH, SC, CS Party Leader, Wiper Patriotic Front | Party Leader, Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition | Principal, The United Alternative Government-in-Waiting

Wazalendo Wenzangu,

Two years ago, young Kenyans from every corner of this Republic - from Kibera to Kisumu, from

Eldoret to Eastleigh, from Mombasa to Moyale, from Wote to Nakuru - poured into our streets and

said, with one voice: Enough. They said it with a bottle of water, their mobile phones, the Kenyan flag in their hands. They achieved even more than we were able to do when the Opposition - led then by Rt Hon Raila Amolo Odinga, Hon Martha Karua, Hon Eugene Wamalwa, and myself - protested the

Finance Bill 2023/2024 and led Kenyans to the streets because of the high cost of living, a housing

levy and an 8% increase in value-added tax on fuel.

Our young Kenyans had read the Finance Bill 2024 and understood what their elders in Parliament

had either failed to understand or chosen to ignore: that the bill was not an economic instrument. It

was a bill designed to take more from Kenyans who already had too little left to give. In so doing, the

Kenyan Spring inspired disaffected youth not just in Africa but across the world to rise up against

injustice, bad governance, and corruption.

The Constitution of Kenya, 2010, under Article 37, guarantees every citizen the right to peaceful

assembly, to picket, and to demonstrate. The preamble of that same Constitution establishes the

ultimate authority of the people. On June 25, 2024, the young people of this country exercised both.

And when those young people marched, they did not march alone. The conscience of this nation

marched with them, including mine.

I have served this Republic in various capacities over the decades - in Parliament, in Cabinet,

and as your Tenth Vice President. The regime’s response to those young people peaceably

exercising their constitutional rights was calculated, shameful, and contemptible, and I say so

without qualification.

Live ammunition against unarmed protesters. Enforced disappearances. Arbitrary arrests, not in the

dead of night, but in open daylight. A president who, days before, had signed the very bill that lit the

fire, stood before cameras at State House, Nairobi, and called our fallen children terrorists. He further

called for them to be charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) - a president weaponising

the law against the very children he was constitutionally bound to protect. I went to the Anti-Terrorism

Court at Kamiti to represent our children before the courts, and secured the dropping of all charges

against them.

The names of our fallen, abducted, kidnapped, and wrongly charged must not become mere footnotes

in our history, but the very foundation upon which a better Kenya is built. I therefore call on the

government, on the security apparatus, and on Parliament: account for every life lost, every person

who disappeared, and every family still waiting for any word on where their children are.

I also call on the police and all security agencies to exercise maximum restraint tomorrow and

in the days ahead. Demonstrators must be allowed to exercise their constitutional rights without

interference from hired goons, excessive force, or live ammunition.

This call for restraint is not made lightly. It is born of the painful lessons of June 2024 and the

solemn obligation to ensure that such tragedies are never repeated.

Yet, even as Kenyans pause to remember the sacrifices made by our young people, Parliament chose

to pass the Finance Bill 2026/2027, less than a week ago, and the President assented to it. That decision

sends a deeply disturbing message. It is a message that the blood shed on our streets two years ago left

no lasting mark on the conscience of those entrusted with the leadership of our nation.

There are, however, honourable exceptions and they deserve to be recognised. I want to salute the 40

MPs who chose to stand with the people of Kenya, among them Wiper Patriotic Front and Azimio La

Umoja One Kenya members, and those within the ruling party UDA who have aligned themselves

with H.E. Rigathi Gachagua's Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), which is part of the United

Alternative Government-in-Waiting. They voted their conscience and history will record that.

In perhaps one of the most cowardly acts ever witnessed in the August House, 186 members stayed

away from Parliament's precincts. Their abdication of their primary responsibility is clarifying.

Kenyans now know with precision who is with them and who is not. They know which faces to look

for on a ballot paper and which names to leave unmarked. The young people of this country gave

Parliament a chance to be better. Parliament failed that test. The responsibility of carrying forward the

unfinished work of reform therefore falls upon all of us.

It is for this reason that I fully endorse the Six-Point Agenda put forward by Kenya's youth as we

commemorate this solemn anniversary. It captures the hopes, demands, and aspirations of a generation

that has paid a heavy price in the struggle for justice, accountability, and democratic governance.

I also reaffirm a position I have consistently championed: that June 25th be formally recognised

as a national public holiday: LIBERATION DAY. This day should serve as a permanent

reminder of the sacrifices made by brave Kenyans in defence of freedom, a National Day of

Remembrance, reflection, and accountability, and an occasion to honour those who gave their

lives for the future of our Republic.

Justice, however, cannot remain an abstract promise. It must be seen, felt, and delivered. All those

responsible for the deaths, abductions, kidnappings, torture, and persecution of Kenyan youth must

therefore be brought to justice. Many of the perpetrators, both in uniform and out of it, were captured

on camera. Accountability must not end with the individuals who carried out these acts. It must extend

to those who ordered, sanctioned, facilitated, financed, or concealed them. Responsibility runs

throughout the chain of command.

The case of 29-year-old Rex Masai, just like many other fallen heroes and heroines, remains a painful

reminder of the impunity that continues to plague our institutions. The Independent Policing Oversight

Authority (IPOA) admitted before the courts on June 15, to grave investigative failures in the case of

the first young Kenyan killed during the Gen Z protests. The Authority acknowledged that the bullet

removed from Rex Masai's body was never collected, cartridges from the scene were never recovered,

critical CCTV footage was never secured, the alleged murder weapon was never retrieved, and key

witnesses were not adequately protected.

The result is a profound injustice: the officer charged in the case may ultimately walk free, not because

he has been found innocent, but because the evidence required to secure justice was never gathered.

This is not merely a case of investigative negligence. It is a stark illustration of a system that too often

shields perpetrators while failing victims. If such failures can occur in a case witnessed by the entire

nation and the international community, what hope remains for the many other victims whose stories

never reached the public eye?

Accountability, however, extends beyond the courtroom. The issue of reparations must also be

addressed with honesty and sincerity. Compensation without accountability is insufficient. Reparations

without a public apology from the highest office in the land cannot heal the wounds inflicted upon our

nation. Kenyans, and especially our youth, deserve an unequivocal acknowledgment of the wrongs

committed against them and a clear commitment that such abuses will never be repeated.

Such an acknowledgment is all the more necessary because, for many victims, the ordeal did not end

when the protests subsided. The consequences of state persecution continue to shape their lives to this

day.

Many young Kenyans were forced into hiding, fleeing their homes, schools, workplaces, and

communities to escape persecution by the very State entrusted with their protection. Two years later,

many continue to live under the shadow of fear, unable to resume normal lives or pursue their

ambitions freely. Their futures have been disrupted, their opportunities diminished, and their dreams

deferred. No nation can claim to be at peace while its young people remain prisoners of fear.

But history teaches us that no sacrifice made in the cause of freedom is ever in vain. The courage

displayed by Kenya's young people has already altered the course of our national conversation and

strengthened the resolve of millions to demand a more just and accountable Republic.

As we mark the second anniversary of June 25th, let us renew our commitment to truth, justice,

accountability, and democratic governance. The sacrifices of our children will never be forgotten, for

their courage awakened a nation and reminded us that the sovereign power of this Republic rests with

its people.

History will remember them not as victims, but as patriots who stood up when their country needed

them most. The Kenya they marched for; one of justice, dignity, opportunity, and constitutional order

will come. And when that day arrives, future generations will know that on June 25, 2024, a courageous

generation refused to surrender their country.

God bless and Komboa Kenya.

H.E. DR. STEPHEN KALONZO MUSYOKA, EGH, SC, CS

Party Leader, Wiper Patriotic Front

Party Leader, Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition

Principal, United Alternative Government-in-Waiting

June 24, 2026