Vox Populi, Vox Dei.” Alcuin of York.
June 25, 2024 will forever be etched in the annals of Kenyan history. It was the day when angry Kenyan youths stormed Parliament to end the executive’s takeover of the house that was supposed to represent and protect them. It cost the blood of many patriots to achieve our goal; unarmed protesters who dreamed of a better future and carried only the Kenyan flag and mobile phones to make history were gunned down by mercenaries and snipers. One of the brightest minds to ever walk down Parliament Road, IT and Mathematics specialist David Chege, was smashed to death on the pavement for all Kenyans to see live on television. David was in the final stages of preparations to leave for Germany in search of greener pastures.
For a moment, the country stood still and trembled in disbelief as David’s soul left his body. An immortal moment, a symbol of resistance in that dark time, captured by Kenyan photojournalist Festo Lang. Four young heroes stood over David’s body, holding the Kenyan flag and singing the national anthem amid a mist of tear gas, unfazed by the sharp bullets whizzing past them. This was the first symbolic moment of the leaderless revolution, a moment that speaks loudly to those in power, telling them that we are like the Hydra of Lerna, that for every head it cuts off, four will rise in its place.
The air they breathed was no longer 21 percent oxygen, but 98 percent tear gas. Yet none of them flinched or choked for even a second. We Kenyans are different, and the rest of the world has come to realize that. A few dozen kilometers away, in Nyeri Town, another comrade stands in solidarity and inhales a tear gas grenade that the riot police hurl at him as if he were steaming. His spirit urges the four to stand firm and breathe in the “oxygen” that the president had prescribed for the day. The four stood there bravely and unfazed. There was no blood in their veins anymore, but pure adrenaline.
X: @essvissa, Art is Resistance, July 8, 2024.
As usual, the MPs, hiding in their safe fortress and surrounded by armed guards, were unaware of what was happening in the country. They voted to pass the punitive tax bill, ignoring the pleas of Kenyans online, claiming that the images and videos of the protests circulating on social media were doctored and generated by artificial intelligence.
To honor the bravery of the four young Subscribeyou must first understand the history of Kenya. It is a democracy that has been built on political activism, social movements and sophisticated guerrilla warfare. From the decades after World War II, when the Mau Mau From the pressures exerted on the colonial administration led by Sir Evelyn Barring, culminating in Britain’s surrender and Kenya’s independence in 1963, to the struggles for multi-party democracy that forced Daniel arap Moi to surrender in 1992, successive generations of Kenyans have demonstrated fearless resilience and determination in fighting for their rights.
The Kenyan flag held by the four patriots in Lang’s photograph is a symbol of our unity, of the coming together of all Kenyans. Black in the flag is the colour of our skin, the skin of David Chege, the four heroes and the other patriots moving in the blurred background. Red represents the blood shed during our struggle for independence and the blood flowing from David Chege’s opened skull. We exist because someone gave their life for us.
In the Bible, blood is often associated with life and justice. Leviticus 17:11 states, “For the life of a living creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for a man’s life.” In Genesis 4:10, after Cain killed his brother Abel, “the Lord said, ‘What have you done? Hear! The blood of your brother cries out to me from the ground.’” Blood speaks and blood remembers; that is why we never forget our fallen heroes. To soothe our souls, we wrap their bodies in the Kenyan flag.
Green represents our vast, beautiful landscape and our biodiversity, perfectly illustrated by the tree above the five heroes. The white stripes symbolize peace, a unity that the unarmed, peaceful protesters showed the world this Tuesday. The shield on the flag is our protector and we will always stand up for it to defend our freedom.
Accomplices, SAY THEIR NAMES.
Youth are emblematic of the movement dubbed the “Generation Z revolution,” a demographic cohort born after Millennials between 1997 and 2012. Throughout history, young protesters have defied the status quo to bring about change. A good example is the youth-led protests in South Africa that culminated in Nelson Mandela’s release after 27 years in prison in 1990 and the end of the brutal apartheid regime. When the older generation gets tired, they pass the baton to their children to stand up for what is right. After all, as Lady Mystery says, “There is no power except that which the people give you permission to take.” Unlike true leaders, many politicians are like black holes, and if we allow them to take, they will take and take until there is nothing left.
The image of David Chege’s body lying among empty tear gas canisters is a stark reminder that police brutality remains a formidable devil that Kenyans must fight. The Gen Z movement has shown Kenya that we can defeat the demon of tribalism. Never again will the political discourse of “mtu wetu”. Political education and the coming emancipated Generation Alpha will put the final nail in the coffin and hopefully also bury police brutality. A paradigm shift has taken place – Kenyans have become more aware of the situation.
As David Chege rests forever along with the many other patriots whose young lives were taken by criminal policemen, we demand justice. We will not forget their sacrifices, their blood will forever water the seeds of our liberation. When we lower them into their graves, their coffins draped in Kenyan flags, we are not burying them. Instead, we are planting them. From the soil will sprout many more freedom fighters. Through their deaths and sacrifices for the Kenyan flag, a new life is born, giving the flag greater meaning. They have achieved immortality.
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