Malema’s EFF slams Kenyan govt over media censorship and youth protest crackdown
South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), led by Julius Malema, has condemned the censorship of media in Kenya and repression of youth protests.
In a strongly worded statement released on the night of Wednesday, June 25, 2025, the EFF expressed full solidarity with Kenyan youth who took to the streets in nationwide protests marking the first anniversary of the deadly June 25, 2024, demonstrations.
“The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) condemns, in the strongest terms, the brutal repression of peaceful protesters, the censorship of independent media, and the escalating authoritarianism of the regime led by President William Ruto in Kenya,” the statement read in part.
“Today, June 25, 2025, the people of Kenya, led by courageous and conscious youth, returned to the streets in nationwide protests to mark the one-year anniversary of the deadly June 25, 2024, demonstrations, where over 60 people were killed while opposing the IMF-backed Finance Bill. That bill, now scrapped due to mass resistance, sought to burden the poor while protecting elites, exposing a regime committed to profit over people.”
EFF slams Ruto
The South African party further accused President William Ruto of unleashing state-sponsored violence and censorship during the Genz-led protests.
The party also condemned the deaths and injuries that were witnessed as a result of police brutality.
“What began as a rejection of economic injustice has now grown into a widespread demand for an end to state corruption, police brutality, and impunity at the highest levels of government. It is a movement led by the youth and in response, President Ruto has unleashed state-sponsored violence and censorship,” EFF stated.
“According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, at least eight people have been killed in today’s protests alone. More than 400 others have been injured, including protesters, journalists, and even police, many hit by live bullets, rubber bullets, or savagely beaten, mainly in Nairobi, the nation’s capital.”
EFF on media shut down
Even more alarming to the EFF was the move by Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) to ban live broadcasts of the protests—a directive that was quickly suspended by the High Court.
But for Malema’s party, the attempt at censorship laid bare the government’s true intentions.
“In a further act of desperation, President Ruto directed the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) to ban all live broadcasts of the protests, citing a deliberate misreading of the Constitution, which, in fact, protects freedom of expression and media independence. This act of media censorship was immediately challenged and suspended by the High Court, but it revealed the government’s true intent: to control the narrative, hide its crimes, and rule by fear,” the EFF stated.
“President Ruto has shown that he is unwilling to lead with dignity. The EFF, therefore, once again declares its full solidarity with the youth of Kenya as we did last year in their fight against austerity through the Finance Bill. This is a generation that refuses to bow, refuses to be silenced, and refuses to accept a future stolen by corrupt elites.”
