Gatekeeping the struggle: The quiet tragedy of activism in Kenya

Anti-riot police officers rough up a protester during the anti-government protests in Mathare on July 19, 2023. [File, Standard]

In the story of Kenya’s long march towards democracy, some names, among them, Gitobu Imanyara, Martha Karua, Rev. Timothy Njoya, Wille Mutunga and Njeri Kabereri have earned their place in the annals of our democratic struggle. They were part of a pantheon of heroes who stood firm against the repression of the single party state; they fought hard, took risks, endured state harassment, violence and detention as they championed the second liberation. They were the conscience of the nation that helped to shine a light in its darkest hours.

But, history, like time, is an unforgiving judge. It remembers both the valor of youth and the compromises of middle age. For some of the activists, the moment one of their own enters State House, the calculus of protest changes. What follows, most often than not, is a tragic arch of compromise, gatekeeping, ethnic loyalty and total alienation from the very struggle they once defined. This, indeed, and to the shock of many, happened in 2002. A critical mind is then left to question whether political activism in this country is in pursuit of higher democratic ideals or whether it serves ethnic interests.