Activists want a monument erected in the heart of Nairobi to commemorate anti-government protestors who were shot dead by police.
According to the activists the monument will be a life long reminder of the brutality visited upon the youths who raised their voices, went on the streets, defended democracy, and carried the dreams of a better country but were met with batons rungus and deadly bullets.
Led by Fanya Mambo Kinuthia who is also a social media commentator, the activists maintain that the struggles of the youth should not pass unnoticed because of the blood shed this year and last year.
“Our pain has often found expression only in mourning, not in building. This is therefore a call to all youth to embrace the idea that we can do something together, something historic, something that will show the nation that we are capable of honouring those we lose in battle with dignity and permanence and something that will forever be a constant reminder of the atrocities meted on the Genzs on streets,” noted Kinuthia.
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The monument, according to Kinuthia, will carry the memories of all those who lost their lives since not everyone can visit their graves.
“This year people went and laid wreaths on various graves of our departed brothers and sisters, and I don’t want to imagine we can sustain that tempo of going back every other year to lay wreaths but if we put up a monument in Nairobi and inscribe their names and photos, then we can have some place to go and honour our brothers. And the ideal location is in the central business district of Nairobi,” Kinuthia said.
Amid plans by government to compensate families of victims who lost their lives during the protests, Kinuthia said the gesture should start with the unveiling of a statue similar to those Dedan Kimathi and Tom Mboya who were honoured for their struggles.
“It only makes sense to have the Genzs murdered during their fight for good governance and accountability recognised like Mboya or Kimathi. We need a monument; a replica of the 1998 bomb blast victims where up to date thousands of Kenya including their families go there to remember their loved one. The statue also serves as constant reminder of the dark day when terrorists visited immeasurable pain on our land,” Kinuthia said.
