On June 25, 2025, Wendy, a young Canian woman, Albert Ozwang-A 31-year-old blogger and hundreds of protesters in Nairobi to protest the death of the teacher, who had recently died in police custody. It was an adventure decision on his behalf, a one that comes with great fear and uncertainty, which was amid growing government action on dissatisfaction.
Wendy told DW, “Initially, I was not going to show it because I was a little scared. He said that they were targeting women this time.”
Finally, she returned home safely. But others did not.
At least 19 people were killed nationwide during the protest held that day, WHIHC matched with the first anniversary of the previous year’s storm of Kenya’s Parliament.
‘I don’t know if I will come back home’
Police barbarism, economic difficulty, and many people under President William Ruto, as a failed government, are widely inspired by frustration, demonstrations, led by large-scale young opposition voices, who self-identifying as General Z, Havis becomes a defined characteristic of Kenya’s political scenario.
But showing resistance can take a toll on mental health: “I’m completely prepared when I am out of the house for protests,” Wendy explains, highlighting the growing sense of concern among people in the country.
Another young protector, Alex Mutua, reduced the fear that now with every performance and political rally, saying that “(E) I go out to fight for my country for a long time, I don’t know if I will be targeted by policy.”
He said, “Part of that protest and foot part is a real scary, given how the police is handling the protest.”
The university student and regular protesters in Nairobi, Ireen Mavari, agrees that young people have to pay the increasing contact with the emotional value.
“Once I go to Kenya to protest, I don’t know if I will come back home,” Mawari told DW.
Still she feels that she says poor governance, even if every protest can become a gambling with her life.
Despite promising her parents that she would remain with future performances, Mavari admitted that she had no intention of keeping her word.
“At the end of the day, we are those who have to stay in Kenya with evil regime. Therefore, if we do not fight for a better future, I don’t know who will do.”
Violence and fear
Protests have become rapidly dangerous over time. On the National Commission of Kenya, the Human Rights Commission said that 31 people were killed during July 7 “Saba Saba”, who protest alone – this is the deadliest day of rallies this year.
More than 100 injured, more than 500 arrested; Countless supermarkets and other businesses were very rarely or destroyed.
The Commission has accused the police of cooperating with armed gangs to use live ammunition and suppress the thesis protests, and Mari agrees.
“If you are lucky that you avoid shooting. The government has used a gun to disrupt peaceful protests. If they do not beat you, you will rob you in a broad day light.”
Psychological great
In Kenya, mental health professionals meanwhile stressed so much that protests are no longer a political matter – they are deeply individually individual, and so are emotionally drought for many people.
“We are experiencing collective trauma,” says Kenyan psychologist Benta Vambui.
“Many young protesters are facing chronic stress and anxiety due to frequent contact for violence. There is emotional enthusiasm, and in some time there is a growing feeling of burnout and despair,” she outlines the fact that the standoff and prolonged nature of the authorities can be well permanent in a year, underlining the long -term nature of the standoffs and officers.
A young activist and community organizer, Jeffrey MBOYA, is on the limits of demonstrations from beginning, two years ago already opposition movements Getty Getty Getti Getty Getty.
Hey says that emotionally the great has permanently replaced them: “[The protests have] Impressed me in ways that I do not think I would ever be able to completely clarify, “he told DW.
“I have lost my share.”
Deep desire to see change
Vambui noted that even those who are not physically present in protest are affected by the overall mood.
“Weight of trauma and loss on Kenai as a collective. Therefore, we lost the state’s vandalism, people who lost people, and the family losing family. Whether you know these people or not, it can trigger emotional numbness along with sorrow and other PTSD symptoms,” he explained.
But despite the trauma, many young Canyas say they will not stop protesting.
Says Mutua, “I believe the protests are going on to me, which will continue me,” Matua says – a feeling echoed by Wendy: “I really want a country that works that works, a country that works for me and my daughter.”
However, therefore, it admits that he is emotionally dry: “Some days I feel very defeated.
MBoya meanwhile says he is fighting two battles at the same time: one against the government, and one with one.
“Revolution needs a lot of people to have a support system. We need treatment to fight well,” he shared DW, saying he has started undergoing treatment to address the painful experiences he has seen.
“Therapy does not remove the patin, but it helps you take it,” they explain.
Requirement of treatment
Vambui agrees that it is necessary to find emotional support for the protesters to continue his fight in a healthy man: “The place of grief may be here that people can collectively process their trauma together and keep the support system, where people can come together and talk about the things that are going on, whether it is a virtuous or a person.”
So comprehensive mental health says for education: “And it is imported to recognize the trigger, recognize burnouts, to recognize all research, and to help you, to be able to recognize them for mental health literacy among the population to be able to identify them.”
Andrew Wasic and Felix Marning contributed to this article in Kenya
Edited by: Sartar Sanderson
