The match has been lit and a flare of rage set off.
The clouds of tear gas in the heart of Kenya‘s capital is doing little to disperse young protesters facing off against riot police after days of unrest.
They angrily shout “Ruto must go” as some throw rocks and glass bottles at police while dodging tear gas canisters and stun grenades.
We see young men singled out by the officers, beaten with batons and dragged along the street before being thrown into police trucks.
Two of them escaped from the back and ran off, yelling defiantly and merging back into the small crowds weaving through the tall buildings of Nairobi’s central business district.
Many have peeled away from the mass protests after a concession from President William Ruto to withdraw the contentious tax bill they gathered to reject.
But those who are still on the streets are unmoved by his words and the promises of his government. They are outraged by growing corruption and enraged by the killing of protesters in the crackdown.
“They are f***ing killing us,” 24-year-old Kelvin yells to us at an active crossroad.
“We are protesting because they are not listening to us. He [Ruto] could’ve said what he said before f***ing killing us.”
Pic: Reuters
Around four miles from the city centre, the body of a 19-year-old man is being prepared for burial. His name was Ibrahim and he was shot in the neck and chest in a raid on parliament on Tuesday.
Neighbours and relatives gather to mourn him, cramped in the tight alleyway in front of his home in one of Nairobi’s impoverished informal settlements.
‘We have to stand’
When we see him, Ibrahim’s lifeless body is covered up to his neck by a bed sheet. His face is still and his mouth is open.
The silence in the room is deafening, especially against the loud yells we heard from his fellow protesters.
The reality is that those who took to the streets have seen young men like Ibrahim killed in front of them but are making the choice to keep fighting.
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As I look down at Ibrahim’s blanketed feet, I remember what Kelvin told us in the thick of tear gas.
“As a young nation we have to stand. I won’t die on my knees, I’ll die on my feet.”
