Families of young people killed during the 2024–2025 Gen Z protests will on Monday march to State House to demand accountability, compensation and official recognition of their loss, more than a year after the first fatal shooting during the demonstrations.
According to a formal notification to police, the peaceful procession is scheduled to begin at 9:00am from Jeevanjee Gardens in Nairobi. Participants will carry flowers and the national flag as they make their way to State House, seeking an audience with the President.
The march marks 550 days since the killing of Rex Masai, who was shot on June 20, 2024, while heading home, becoming the first known fatality linked to the Gen Z protests. Since then, multiple protest cycles — including the June 25, 2025 anniversary demonstrations and the Saba Saba marches on July 7 — have resulted in additional deaths, some occurring away from protest sites, including inside residential homes.
Kelvin Simba, whose brother Mike Brian Kasaine was among those killed, said findings by the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) indicate a troubling pattern in the use of force. According to the organisation, three out of every five extrajudicial killings involved gunshot wounds from behind, suggesting victims were unarmed and attempting to flee.
“As of December 18, 2025, 547 days after Rex Masai was killed, not a single police officer has been held accountable,” Simba said.
Families have also faulted the government for delays in implementing compensation and justice measures, despite a presidential proclamation issued on August 8, 2025, establishing a reparations framework for victims of police violence dating back to 2017.
In a statement accompanying the notice, the families appealed directly to the President, noting the emotional toll of prolonged inaction.
“While the President has received many delegations and prioritised other national expenditures, we ask that he now hear the voices of families facing a Christmas without their children,” the notice reads. “We also march in solidarity with survivors who were left paralysed or permanently disabled.”
Organisers emphasised that the procession is intended as a peaceful appeal, framed in the spirit of the Christmas season, rather than a protest.
They have formally requested police protection under Article 37 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to assemble, demonstrate and petition public authorities peacefully and unarmed. The notice specifies that participants will carry no placards or weapons, only flowers and the national flag.
“This is not a protest but a plea for justice,” Simba said. “We trust that the police will not harass or arrest grieving parents and siblings who are simply seeking to be heard.”
The notification was addressed to the Nairobi Regional Police Commander and copied to the Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD) Kilimani, the Inspector General of Police, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).
Authorities are expected to monitor the procession closely, with media organisations invited to cover the event. Organisers say the march is meant to keep the memory of the fallen Gen Z protesters alive while pressing the state to honour its commitments on justice and reparations.
