Third liberation lies in actualisation of Article 43

Protesters during Saba Saba protest in Kitengela on July 7th 2025. (Collins Oduor, Standard)

On July 7th, 2025, active citizens celebrated Saba Saba’s 35th birthday. In 1990, we crossed the Rubicon in our history by pushing back against authoritarianism that had repressed Kenyans’ political rights, especially their right to exercise multipartyism and political pluralism.

Back then, things were so bad that even if you exercised your freedom of speech, you weren’t assured of freedom after speech. Forced disappearances, torture chambers, and spying were the order of the day. We remember this horror movie of repression, which is part of our history, to remind ourselves of where we have been and wish never to return.