As Kenya stands on the edge of the first anniversary of the June 25, 2024, protests, a familiar and painful story is unfolding again, one marked by police brutality, youth-led resistance, and a government that seems determined to carry on with business as usual.

Albert Ojwang died in police custody just days ago. His death has triggered fresh protests across Nairobi and other cities, reigniting national anger over police brutality.

But even before the pain could settle, another Kenyan, Bonface Kariuki, a street vendor selling masks in the Nairobi CBD, was shot on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, during peaceful demonstrations demanding justice for Ojwang and accountability from the state.

The protests were not violent. The demands were not extreme. But the state’s response has been chillingly consistent: silence from the top and bullets in the streets.

The country is now seven days away from June 25, the date that last year saw some of the most horrifying scenes in Kenya’s post-independence history.

According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), at least 19 young people were killed in Nairobi alone during protests against the punitive Finance Bill 2024. By the end of the nationwide demonstrations, over 60 lives had been lost, many of them young, unarmed, and full of promise.

June 25

Declaring June 25 a national public holiday is not a radical request. It is a necessary act of remembrance, and a step toward healing a nation that has been wounded repeatedly by state violence.

It would honour not only those killed last year, but every soul lost to police brutality, even Albert Ojwang.

It would send a powerful message that the Kenyan government is willing to confront its failures, to acknowledge its dead, and to promise never again with actions, not just words.

This country already has Mashujaa Day and Madaraka Day. Surely we can spare one day for the youth who died fighting for their right to be heard.

President William Ruto must act now. This cannot wait for political timing or PR calculations.

The people are not asking for much; they are asking to be seen. To be heard. To be mourned.

Albert Ojwang died in the hands of those who swore to protect him. Another man was shot for selling masks during a peaceful protest. If this government does not respond to that, what will it respond to?

A Ksh2 million cheque is not justice. A televised apology is not reform. A fiery quote about change is not leadership when your people are being buried week after week.

Seven days remain. The time for silence is over. President Ruto must listen.

Declare June 25 a national holiday. Honour the dead. Start the healing. Anything less is a betrayal of the people you swore to serve.