We interviewed Dr Lydia Omwansa, President of WILPF Kenya who is based in Nairobi. She is a trained medical doctor who together with other medical professionals has been providing care and support, both virtually and physically to those that have been injured during the recent protests in Kenya that started on 18 June 2024.
What drew you to become an activist?
By training, I am a medical doctor who has been in active practice for the past 12 years. I then moved into the public health area. On becoming a mother, like many other women, I had to balance my career with motherhood when I realised that actualising the balance is a challenging reality. This was what drew me to WILPF, which was an opportunity to work on the challenges and highlight the unique challenges facing women, girls and the youth. For me, seeing the struggles that people face at the community level and finding ways to uplift them drives my activism spirit.
The recent and ongoing protests in Kenya has gotten so much attention, were you surprised?
No, I was not surprised. There has been growing discontent in among the Kenyan populace regarding the blatant misuse of public funds and the flamboyant lifestyle of certain public servants. The passing of the draconian Finance Bill of 2024, was the final straw.
For context, there have been steep increments in the taxation rates over the past few years. This new proposal was seeking to further increase the taxes. There had been a lot of public participation with the populace sharing their displeasure and discontent at the contents of the Finance Bill 2024. Even though the majority of Kenyans were against the bill, it was passed. This act proved that the ruling class had no interest in listening to the concerns of the people. What irked people the most, was the proposal to tax basic items such as bread, cancer treatment, and sanitary pads. In Kenya, most people are unable to access basic healthcare treatment and basic items for daily sustenance, yet the items were being targeted for increased taxation!
What surprised us was that young people mobilised to take to the streets. In previous elections they rarely came forward to vote and are mostly in the background. Then, it felt like they came out of nowhere in droves. Ready to speak truth to power, express themselves peacefully and knowledgeably (many had even read the Finance Bill and Constitution!). They have built a community that is tribeless and fearless and rallied themselves and come forward. What is also unique is how young people mobilised online, where sometimes 100 thousand people would join online – not to rally for violence but to share stories and discuss solutions peacefully.
In particular police brutality and their tactics has been highlighted in relation to these protests…
Whenever there are protests in Kenya, we often deal with protesters who protest along tribal-based affiliations. However, these protests were issue-based. Out of the 45 counties in the country, protests took place in 35 counties, including the county in which the current Kenyan President comes from. This is a phenomenon that has never been seen in Kenya – the young people were taking a stand. They took to the streets from all walks of life. They came ready with drinking water, a mobile phone, the Kenyan flag and a fire to push their agenda forward. Whenever people were tear gassed, there was water available for people to wash off the irritants from their faces and skins. They pooled resources, offering drinking water to the protesters in the streets. Everyone was united. Everyone took care of each other. The coordination and collaboration of these national were from the first day of the protests, which were largely peaceful – police were on the ground throwing canisters and there were lorries spraying people with “pepper-spray” water.
The Kenyan healthcare workers came together virtually and created the “Medics for Kenya” teams. The voluntary medical teams were on standby to take care of injured protesters. They also fundraised and purchased some basic medical resources which were used on the injured people. The subsequent protests unfortunately had “infiltration by goons” which saw government changing their tactics in how they handled protesters. At some point the goons infiltrated state institutions like parliament and the police were informed that they were no longer in charge of containing the protests and so the Kenyan Defense Forces (KDF) were brought in. These KDF forces are meant to “defend” Kenya from outside attacks, but instead were used against civilians. The use of live bullets on the protesters was also sanctioned. Kenya lost some young people who succumbed due to injuries. These are young people who came to use their voices to advocate for change and lost their lives while utilising this basic human right. This is a government that is killing our children. Children who come bearing a phone, a resolute spirit and the Kenyan flag. The very same government that decided to send our police, to be part of the peacekeeping mission in Haiti to fight armed gangs yet sends its army to kill its own children who are unarmed! It’s a tragic reality.
What was the response by protestors?
So many of the Kenyan politicians use social platforms such as churches and funerals to speak and give “contributions”. Many people believe that the money that is given in these forums is looted from these funds. The young people, who are the majority of the protestors changed tactics and refused to allow politicians to have a public platform and for example speak in church. They switched off the microphones at various events to ensure that these people were not able to use community stages to spread their agendas.
What is next?
The sustained pressure has already had several positive outcomes. The Finance bill 2024 has been withdrawn, some of the extra punitive taxes live the fuel levy have also been withdrawn. Today, on the 11 July 2024, the president of Kenya, Willian Samoei Ruto has fired his whole cabinet.
The Kenyan medics will also continue with their advocacy. The medics held some demonstrations outside the Ministry of Education. The team camped there for 3 days and 3 days, in spite of the cold weather and rains. At the end of the 3 days, over half of the medical interns who have been waiting to be posted as interns for over 2 years were posted to various medical facilities.
The Kenyan youth promise to keep pushing for better leadership and governance so we can have a more equitable and prosperous nation.