Kenyans rally in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza

Hundreds of Kenyans took to the streets of Nairobi to show solidarity with Palestinians caught in the war in Gaza.

Motorbike riders and drivers circled the capital waving Palestinian flags, chanting “Free, free Palestine.”

Protesters denounced the scale of the humanitarian crisis. Activist Shakira Wafula said: “The genocide in Palestine has to stop. Children are dying, women are suffering. They are bombing hospitals and residential areas. And Israel basically wants to extinguish the existence of Palestinians.”

Others drew parallels between Gaza and Africa’s colonial past. Nabil Mohamed told the crowd: “What we can see happening in Gaza right now and what happened in Africa is basically the same because they are going through occupation. We went through colonization. We share the same colonial masters and we can't just sit back and watch what is happening there, the mass murders, the genocide, the starvation and killing of innocent children and women.”

The war began after Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack that killed around 1,200 people in Israel and led to mass abductions. Since then, Gaza’s health ministry says more than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed, with aid groups warning of widespread starvation under Israeli restrictions. Israel rejects those claims, calling them propaganda by Hamas.