Inside 2025: The year of empty pockets and broken promises

Protesters make signs with their arms in front of Kenya police officers during a demonstration against tax hikes in Nairobi. [AFP]

For many Kenyans, 2025 will be remembered as the year of shattered hopes, violent crackdowns and deepening poverty.

What began as protests demanding economic relief escalated into one of the worst human rights crises in the country's recent history, with at least 100 people killed, dozens abducted and thousands arrested as President William Ruto's government deployed brutal force against its own citizens.