Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) leader Eugene Wamalwa has accused the government of intimidating families of victims killed during 2024 anti-government protests, calling on authorities to allow Kenyans to peacefully commemorate those who lost their lives during the demonstrations.

Speaking after meeting families of some of the victims under the banner of the opposition’s United Alternative Government, Wamalwa criticized what he described as threats from senior government officials ahead of planned memorial activities marking two years since the protests.

“We are getting a lot of threats from the President, the DP, Murkomen, and PS Omollo. We are saying, what is all this? These families are still hurting. You come and throw at them three million shillings and start threatening them, reading the Rioting Act,” Wamalwa said on Sunday, June 21, 2026.

“Let these families come out in whichever way they want to honour these heroes. We demanded that these threats must stop. Let Kenyans be allowed to come out and commemorate; they are free to do so without unnecessary intimidation from the state.”

The planned commemorations come two years after nationwide anti-finance bill protests, largely driven by Gen Z activists, rocked the country and culminated in deadly confrontations between demonstrators and security agencies. The protests, which peaked with the storming of Parliament on June 25, 2024, left several people dead and many others injured, sparking local and international concern over the use of force by security officers.

Wamalwa said opposition leaders had spent Father’s Day with families who lost loved ones during the protests, including the family of Rex Masai, one of the most prominent faces of the demonstrations whose death became a rallying point for protesters demanding accountability.

“As the United Alternative Government, we chose to spend Father’s Day with the fathers of the young people we lost during the anti-tax protests. We were with the father and family of Rex Masai and other families,” he said.

“They deserve compensation, prayers, encouragement, and consolation, but they deserve more than that; they deserve justice.”

The former Defence Cabinet Secretary also urged police to facilitate peaceful memorial gatherings rather than suppress them, warning against a repeat of the violence witnessed during 2024’s demonstrations.

“The police should provide security; they should not go to the extent they did last year,” Wamalwa said.

He further alleged that criminal gangs had previously been used to disrupt peaceful protests, accusing security agencies of failing to act against such groups.

“There is a culture of goonism; the state tried to allow goons to infiltrate peaceful demonstrators. We’ve had a terrible culture creeping into our country where the police work hand in hand with goons. What you have is a goonvernment, goons and government merged together as one against the people,” he added.

The government has consistently denied allegations of sponsoring or facilitating criminal groups during demonstrations and has maintained that security agencies operate within the law to protect lives and property during public protests.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has previously warned that while Kenyans have a constitutional right to assemble and picket, public gatherings must remain peaceful and comply with the law.

“If you choose to exercise your rights under Article 37 this week, do so peacefully, while respecting the right of children to go to school, the right of people to own and protect their property, and the rights and livelihoods of other citizens,” he said.

As the anniversary of the Gen Z-led protests approaches, families of victims, civil society groups, and opposition leaders are expected to hold memorial events across the country while continuing to demand accountability for deaths and injuries linked to the demonstrations.

Human rights organizations have repeatedly called for independent investigations into alleged cases of excessive use of force during the protests, with families of victims insisting that justice remains elusive nearly a year later.