Thousands of people in Kenya are gearing up for demonstrations as the country commemorates the second anniversary of Gen Z protests on Thursday, and mourns more than 120 people who were killed in a movement that galvanised a generation of young Kenyans two years ago.

Initially triggered by an overarching tax bill in 2024, young protesters – known as “Gen Z” – mobilised against the rising cost of living, unemployment and government corruption, aiming to push President William Ruto out of office.

That did not happen, but the government was forced to walk back on the tax bill. Still, the broader challenges, including economic inequality, which triggered anger among young people, have not been resolved, experts say.

A commemoration event last year, to mark the first anniversary, turned bloody, as the government forces cracked down on protests, killing more than 60 people.

This year, Ruto’s government has repeatedly warned against protests, which are set to start on Thursday, and has again ordered a heavy police deployment.

Like last year, Gen Z demonstrations are expected to return to major cities across the country, including in the capital, Nairobi, on Thursday.

So, how did Kenya’s Gen Z protest begin, and what’s in store this year?

What are Gen Z protests?

Gen Z protests are rooted in a distinct, hyperconnected era of civil resistance, led by a generation born between the late 1990s and early 2010s. They are often organised in a decentralised way through social media rather than by traditional activists and political parties.

While demands are specific to the socioeconomic realities of a particular country, they typically centre around inequality and what many young people view as democratic backsliding by governments. The movements have been characterised by their decentralised, leaderless structures.

Even as the label was initially associated with global climate protests led by teenagers, the wave has since uprooted incumbent governments in countries like Nepal in 2025, Bangladesh in 2024, and Sri Lanka in 2022. Last year, similar protests erupted in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Kenya’s Gen Z mobilisation since 2024 also features among the most impactful and widely resonating protest movements.

How did the protests begin in Kenya?

Protests began in 2024 in opposition to a finance bill aimed at raising $2.7bn in new tax revenue. At the peak of the protests, demonstrators stormed parliament and burned part of it after politicians passed the controversial bill on June 25, 2024.

President Ruto eventually succumbed to pressure and returned the bill to parliament for further amendments – although not before protests had been subdued amid state repression.

Ruto had risen to power on a populist agenda in 2022 and appealed to young marginalised groups. His campaign platform embraced what he called a “bottom-up approach” to prioritise millions trying to make ends meet, targeting working-class Kenyans.

However, his time in office has seen increasing taxes, leading to inflation.

The protests returned the following year, when thousands marched to commemorate the killings in June 2025, and snowballed after blogger Albert Ojwang died in police custody, reigniting public anger over police brutality and government accountability.

The crackdown left more than 60 people dead and more than 500 injured, according to rights groups and media reports.

What’s happening this year?

On June 21, victims of the crackdowns on protests, including families of those killed by the police, gathered at the Nairobi Baptist Church, calling on the government to listen to citizens.

“We stand with every Kenyan who continues to carry the pain and memories of that dark season in our nation,” said Chris Kinyanjui, the general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya, in a statement after the memorial service.

Jackie Makena, a theologian from the Methodist Church in Kenya, told the gathering that “Kenya stands in a courtroom”.

“The blood of young people cries out from the ground. The voices of those lost in the Gen Z protests of 2024 and 2025 echo in our streets,” she said.

Tensions have been simmering in Nairobi for some time. Ruto’s government has introduced the new Finance Act, 2026, which it has framed as a pro-growth, investment-friendly law designed to expand the economy, and which Ruto said marks a shift from aggressive revenue mobilisation towards supporting enterprise and stimulating private-sector investment.

He called opposition to the bill “propaganda”.

Speaking at a state event in Nairobi on June 19, the president called on Kenyans not to demonstrate on Thursday, saying they must continue with their daily activities and consider productivity and economic growth.

“The one thing that is not going to happen is that people will be mobilised to destroy property or to cause chaos or mayhem. That will not happen,” he repeated. “Children will go to school because it’s their right to go to school. Workers will go to work because that’s how we raise the productivity of our nation,” he said.

Senior opposition figure, Siaya County Governor James Orengo, called on Kenyans to participate in remembrance services, including a march to government buildings in Nairobi and vigils across the country.

“To those who cannot join the march, stand in solid solidarity by staying at home … let the silence of our empty streets be a roaring testament against tyranny,” he wrote on X. “We will not forget, and we will not back down. See you on June 25th!”

Will victims of protest crackdowns receive justice?

Last week, President Ruto announced a fund of nearly $15m to compensate 1,100 people affected by violent protests between 2017 and 2025, and identified by rights groups.

He said the payments would be an “acknowledgement that harm occurred”, but stopped short of making an apology.

“He’s covering up the wrongs that he did. He just wants us to shut up because of the cash that he’s giving us – the peanuts,” said Gillian Munyao, whose son, Rex Masai, 29, was among the first to be killed in the June 2024 protests.

“I’m not seeing justice anywhere … why pay us without giving the culprit?” Munyao told AFP at a Nairobi court last week, where a legal case over the killings is continuing.

Only three cases from the 2024 protest deaths, and one from 2025, have come to court, and no officer has been convicted.

Global rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch noted that dozens of government critics were also abducted in 2024 and 2025, and many have never been seen again.

In May 2025, Ruto said there was an “accountability mechanism” to bring those responsible to justice. But many, including his own former attorney general, say he was directly responsible for the kidnappings, and there has been no sign of any investigation.