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June 25th, 2024 was a pivotal moment in Kenya’s history.
The country awoke to the thundering roar of chants, courage and the hiss of teargas. Something irreversible had shifted.That day marked more than just a rebellion against the Finance Bill 2024.
It cracked open the country's generational fault lines, shattered old myths and awakened a movement led not by seasoned politicians, but by young, wired, and unflinching citizens.
Gen Z had arrived. Not just to protest, but to redefine power.
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Amid the sea of placards and hashtags, a handful of vocal personalities emerged. Faces and voices that refused to disappear after the crowds thinned.
They became the pulse of the protests, the ones who livestreamed through sit-ins, tweeted through arrests, and kept Kenya’s conscience wide awake.
A year on, they remain. Bruised but unbroken, vocal but targeted, and more vital to Kenya’s civic landscape than ever. This is the story of those who did not just ride the wave of history, they helped steer it.
READ ALSO: 8 key moments from maandamano 2024
1. Hanifa Safia Adan
Activist Hanifa Adan
A former journalist turned activist, Hanifa used her X account to coordinate protest logistics (meeting points, transport) in the build up to the June 25, 2024 protests.
On June 30, 2024, Hanifa mobilized Gen Z protesters and well-wishers via X to donate through M-Changa to clear the hospital bills of those injured during the protests and to cater for the funeral expenses of killed protesters.
READ ALSO: OSINT: Tool that unmasked officers accused of shooting Finance Bill 2024 protestors
The campaign she initiated surpassed its original Sh10 million goal, ultimately collecting over Sh31 million to cover medical bills, funerals and support for seriously or permanently injured comrades.
The activist would release a fully audited breakdown of the Sh31.6 million raised funds on September 4, 2024, detailing how the funds were put to use. Her transparency drew widespread praise on social media and set a new standard for accountability in civic fundraising.
She would admit, however, that coordinating hospital visits, funerals and legal aid for protesters drained her emotionally.
Hanifa Adan
She would write;
Handling this was a test for me; I would break down in public toilets and scream under my pillow later.
But my God, I would do it again and again if it meant taking care of our comrades.
Since April 2025, Hanifa has been a Daily Nation columnist, debuting her first opinion piece on Apr 22, 2025. She remains highly active and highly vocal on her social media pages.
READ ALSO: 7 groups of Kenyans who need to read Finance Bill 2025 [Budget Watch]
2. Hussein Khalid
Human rights activist Hussein Khalid
Former Executive Director of Haki Africa Hussein Khalid has been a human rights activist for decades. In the process, he has clashed with the governments of the day, made foes and gained allies as well.
He helped coordinate the Occupy Parliament sit-in against the Finance Bill 2024, which evolved on the day to become the June 25, 2024 protests. He would be detained briefly alongside other activists before being released.
Hussein Khalid
In September 2024, Khalid resigned from his role at Haki Africa and founded Vocal Africa, alongside partners former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, opposition figure Bobi Wine of Uganda and Julius Malema of South Africa, seeking a continent-wide push for good governance.
3. Boniface Mwangi
Boniface Mwangi during a protest
The father of three was crucial to the June 2024 protests, having been at the forefront of sensitizing the every day Kenyan on key clauses of the Finance Bill 2024.
He would be arrested on June 18, 2024 after symbolically blocking Koinange Street with a white coffin and crosses, then released unconditionally the next day. He would be arrested again on July 25 for ‘incitement to violence’ after posting on social media that the government was carrying out extrajudicial killings, then released on a Sh20,000 cash bail.
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Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi is arrested during a protest in Nairobi on February 13, 2014. The demonstration entitled "State of the Nation" was held to protest against rising cases of corruption in the government, lack of safety in public places, hi...
He would then face multiple arrests in October to December of 2024 as well as detention and torture in Tanzania in 2025.
READ ALSO: Here are 7 notable times Boniface Mwangi has been arrested and detained
Known for being extremely vocal on social media, Boniface Mwangi has retained visibility through media appearances, photography exhibitions and grassroots mobilization.
4. Shakira Wafula
Shakira Wafula
On June 18, 2024, Shakira’s fearless stand, where she was captured in a viral video raising the Kenyan flag and challenging riot police with “I’m here for Kenyans…for your rights”, turned her into a symbol of Gen Z resistance.
So much so, that on July 19, 2024, a large full colour mural depicting that iconic protest moment was unveiled on Cardinal Otunga Road, cementing her image as a beacon of resilience.
The fitness influencer has faced occasional police intimidation during live protests since then, standing off against anti-riot police and water cannons. She remains active across social media, wielding immense influence.
READ ALSO: From ‘reject Finance Bill’ to ‘State House exclusive’ – Shakira Wafula’s move shocks Gen Z
5. Cop Shakur
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Jackson Kuria also known as Shakur the cop
Jackson Kuria, known as ‘Cop Shakur’ came to the forefront after joining anti-Finance Bill 2024 protests in full prison police uniform.
As a result, Kenya Prisons Service interdicted him for violating service rules and halved his salary.
Since then, Cop Shakur has been a darling of many Kenyans online owing to his unwavering opposition to poor leadership, especially in his line of duty as a Prisons Officer.
READ ALSO: Protestor in uniform: The mysterious disappearance & return of Shakur the Cop
He has also faced harassment severally, such as his January 2025 arrest by DCI officers on charges of incitement to mutiny and publishing false information. He was released on a Sh50,000 cash bail.
Jackson Kihara alias Cop Shakur
Cop Shakur has also claimed in the past that, despite having submitted two resignation letters, the Kenya Prisons Service had repeatedly refused to accept them, effectively blocking his exit.
However, in May 2025, Cop Shakur took to social media to claim he had been fired, vowing legal recourse against the Prisons Service.
Shakur also claimed that his decision to leave the force had resulted in disciplinary action and intimidation, including being posted to a hardship area as punishment.
Many people ask me why I choose to be an activist despite being an officer. After the Gen Z protests, I was interdicted, reinstated, and posted to a hardship area as punishment.
On November 29, 2024, Cop Shakur won the People’s Choice Award at the Human Rights Defenders Awards in a ceremony at the Royal Danish Embassy in Nairobi.