Kenyans from all walks of life have effectively declared June 25th a national holiday, staying away from their workplaces in their millions to honour and commemorate the more than 120 young people who were killed during the anti-government demonstrations that rocked the country on June 25th, 2024.
Despite President William Ruto and his allies insisting that Thursday would be a normal working day, the streets, offices and business centres told a completely different story. Nairobi’s Central Business District was a ghost town, with business owners and matatu operators shutting their doors and parking their vehicles as a show of solidarity with those who lost their lives under the Kenya Kwanza government. Similar scenes played out in towns across the country, from Mombasa to Kiambu and beyond, as Kenya effectively ground to a halt.
While pockets of demonstrations were recorded in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kiambu counties, the defining statement of the day was not made on the streets but in the silence of a nation that simply stayed home. Financial analysts estimate that Kenya lost over Sh3 billion in tax revenue on Thursday alone, as commerce, transport and economic activity came to a near-complete standstill.
The outcome was a quiet vindication for former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who had urged the youth to stay home rather than take to the streets, warning that the government was prepared to use lethal force against anyone who demonstrated. Gachagua had called on Gen Zs to turn the day into a public holiday, and by every measure, that is exactly what happened.
Perhaps the most telling detail of the entire day was this. President William Ruto, the man who declared June 25th a normal working day and warned the country to carry on as usual, spent the whole day holed up inside State House, going nowhere and doing nothing. In the end, even he observed the Gen Z holiday.
