KASKINEN, M. & MWAURA, J. (2025) ACTIVIST CONTESTATIONS IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIO-POLITICAL CHANGE MAKING IN KENYA

This chapter explores the shifting terrain of activism in Kenya, where declining donor support and state hostility have narrowed the space for civil society while disillusionment grows among younger generations. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, the authors examine how community-based justice centres have emerged as critical spaces for activism, despite deep-seated tensions and mistrust among activist groups. By analyzing both collaboration and conflict—particularly through the lens of the Saba Saba March for Our Lives—the chapter argues that contestation itself is a defining feature of a resilient and evolving activist ecosystem.

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