In less than eight hours, Kenyans collectively fundraised over Ksh. 2 million to cover the burial expenses of Rex Kanyike and Evans Kiratu, who succumbed to injuries sustained during the Thursday Occupy Parliament protests.
Rex was shot and killed by police as the protests stretched into the night, while Evans died a few days later after being hit by a teargas canister.
Moved by the tragic circumstances, Kenyans on X rallied to provide a decent sendoff for the two men. A day after an X ‘space’ galvanized the nation and ramped up online activism, X personality Kimuzi, in collaboration with Osama Otero and Hanifa Adan, organized a fundraiser for both Rex and Evans, setting up an M-CHANGA fundraiser early Sunday morning.
Kimuzi shared the fundraiser’s link, writing, “Our Brothers Rex & Evans | M-CHANGA. This is the link. I will send all the funds in my Mpesa here that was contributed. The goal is 2M. We can do this. It will be shared by both families.” Contributions quickly poured in, with many Kenyans sharing screenshots of their donations to encourage others to participate.
Simultaneously, Osama Otero launched another X space dedicated to the fallen protesters, urging listeners to contribute as little as Ksh. 10. Eight hours later, Kimuzi updated Kenyans on the status of the fundraiser, proudly announcing that the target had been met and even exceeded by hundreds of thousands of shillings.
“8 hours later, tuko 2M. This week, nimekuwa happy, for the first time as a Kenyan. You can kill a liberator, but will never kill the incoming libération!” he tweeted.
He followed it up with more appreciation tweets, calling the contributors ‘unstoppable’ and further castigating President Ruto.
“WE MADE IT!! THANK YOU, THANK You. We are unstoppable. We are a movement, Ruto can’t stop this. Unlike Sudi, we’ve done this together!” he said.
Osama Otero succinctly celebrated the fundraiser’s success by tweeting, “DONE!” and sharing a screenshot of the incredible achievement. Following the fundraiser’s success, some Kenyans on X are now making elaborate plans to attend the burials of Rex Kanyike and Evans Kiratu en masse.
Many are urging people to show up in their thousands to not only honorably lay the duo to rest but also to send a strong message to the Kenyan leadership about the public’s dissatisfaction and unity in the face of injustice.
