Activists keep Kenya's protest revolution alive on public buses, slums: Video
A street poet and two activists are keeping the spirit of recent protests alive in Nairobi through a civic movement on public buses and discussions in local slums.
They use spoken word and community organising to engage residents, in a bid to promote accountability and participation in Kenya’s political process.
Willie Oeba, a 30-year-old spoken word artist, has turned to public buses, or matatus, to continue the fight for accountability and civic education. As protesters retreat in the wake of police brutality that claimed over 60 lives, Oeba continues to use his art to fuel the cause.
“We’ve had a massive impact," says Oeba. "Our civic education is not only confined to the matatus, we also shoot and share online, sparking conversations about accountability and mobilising artists, lawyers, and doctors to educate citizens on the importance of active participation,” he told AFP.
Oeba’s work comes as a response to the June protests that called out government corruption and unfulfilled promises, with matatus offering an informal but effective platform to reach thousands of Kenyans. His videos, which blend art and activism, have helped set the agenda online and ignited discussions on key issues like voter participation, holding politicians accountable, and resisting state capture.
Other activists like Wanjira Wanjiru, activist and co-founder Mathare Social Justice and Kasmuel McOure, a rising new voice from the Gen-Z movement hold discussions and civic educational dialogues with residents in slums to sensitise them about the need to keep holding their leaders accountable.
"The true change is in our community organising, is in communities coming together, is in ward-to-ward, constituency-constituency kind of organising; is in these kinds of setups where we come and make sure that we are on the same page mentally, that we are talking to each other, that we are saying we are leaving behind the Kenya that kills us, that kills our future, that destroys our present, that does not care about us, because this is home for each and every one of us," Wanjiru said.
For these activists, the public protests may have paused, but the revolution continues through what they call "the revolution of the mindset," an effort to shift the nation’s collective consciousness.
