More than a year after the Finance Bill uprising, young Kenyans say intimidation, smear campaigns and coordinated digital harassment have left them fearful of ever protesting again.
During the Gen Z–led protests between June 2024 and July 2025, the Kenyan government weaponised social media and digital monitoring tools to suppress youthful demonstrators, according to a new Amnesty International report. Social platforms were central to the mobilisation, with hashtags like #RejectFinanceBill and #SisiNiNumbers rallying thousands of young people onto the streets to oppose new taxes amid a soaring cost of living.
The demonstrations turned deadly, following clashes with police that left over 100 people dead, and dozens arrested or forcibly disappeared, according to multiple human-rights groups.
Victor Ndede, technology and human rights campaign manager at Amnesty International Kenya, says the study shows Kenya‘s government “paid bloggers to intimidate and send threatening messages to the young protestors” to push them out of the movement. “Young Kenyans now fear arrest or even abduction if they criticise the government openly,” Ndede tells The Africa Report, noting that many were shaken by threats sent to them through Facebook and WhatsApp.
‘I’m not sure I will protest again’
Serah, a Gen Z human-rights defender whose second name is withheld for security reasons, actively mobilised young people online and on the streets during the Nairobi protests. Today, she still lives in fear. She tells The Africa Report she received numerous threatening messages across her social media accounts, along with phone calls from unknown numbers warning her to stop.
Since then, Serah says she is traumatised and mentally shaken. She lives in constant fear and has deleted all protest photos and messages from her social media accounts. There were widespread and coordinated tactics on digital platforms to silence and suppress young protesters
“The threats made me believe that I was doing the wrong thing by protesting. We were fighting for people who don’t care. I’m not sure I will protest again,” she says, noting that even her family and community have sidelined her for mobilising the demonstrations.
Loba, a 24-year-old university student in Nairobi, also says he was a victim of online intimidation from individuals he believes were government agents. He recalls that on 25 June 2024 — the day protesters stormed Parliament — he received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number. “You are protesting against the government that pays for your university fees. Consider it as the end of your studies,” it said.
Coming from a financially unstable family, Loba says the threat shook him, though he still joined the protest. Now, he admits he is “unsure if he will participate in future youthful protests”, fearing the impact on his education.
According to Ndede, the experiences shared by young demonstrators confirm Amnesty’s findings that “there were widespread and coordinated tactics on digital platforms to silence and suppress young protesters”. He indicates that there is a likelihood of such intimidation continuing in the future.
Bloggers ‘were paid’ $192 to drown out Gen Z
During the protests, organisers pushed hashtags like #RutoMustGo calling for President William Ruto’s resignation. Almost immediately, pro-government digital teams countered with #RutoMustGoOn, flooding the timelines and diluting the momentum.
Amnesty quotes one man who admitted to being part of a government-funded digital squad. He said they were paid between KSh25,000 ($192.75) and KSh50,000 per day to amplify pro-government messaging and counter anti-government narratives.
“Most of the things you see trending in Kenya, I’m among the people doing that,” the man, whose name was withheld for security reasons, told Amnesty International.
Pro-government paid bloggers also spread disinformation and smear campaigns. Hanifa Adan, a prominent human-rights activist and journalist of Somali descent, was targeted in posts describing her as a ‘foreigner’, a ‘fool’ and a ‘Somali terrorist’. Hanifa told Amnesty International the attacks have made her life “hard and took away joy and [sense of] who she is”.
New bill may ‘endanger citizens who criticise the regime’
The interior cabinet secretary, Kipchumba Murkomen, denied Amnesty International’s findings, saying: “The government of Kenya does not sanction harassment or violence against any citizen.” He defended security agencies, arguing they “operate strictly within the constitution” and that any officer implicated in unlawful conduct bears individual responsibility.
But with the enactment of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act, 2024, rights defenders warn the state now has even greater power to monitor, silence and potentially endanger citizens who criticise the regime.
Ruto signed the contentious law on 15 October, despite mounting concerns that it could exacerbate state-sponsored repression. The Kenya Human Rights Commission and Reuben Kigame, a presidential aspirant in the 2027 election, have since gone to court to challenge its constitutionality. The government insists that the amendments are to curb the publication of what it considers false, misleading or mischievous information that threatens national peace and security.
– The African Report
