New dawn as ‘Third Liberation’ beckons

Twenty years ago yesterday, swirls of tear gas left men and women scampering for exits that turned out to be blocked by baton-wielding, helmeted police. On that day, Kenya’s future was written under the crunch of police boots and in the blood and sweat of a few, heroic daredevils who called it the Second Liberation.

In those dark days, no more than three people could congregate to talk without first applying for a police permit. Even talk at social places was muted with furtive glances over the back, in case secret police overheard them.