Those attacking Arsenal fans for turning up in huge numbers in Nairobi but not showing up for protests are missing the bigger point.
People do not fail to protest because they love suffering. They fail to protest because Kenyans are not angry enough, not desperate enough and not organized enough to sustain serious resistance. That is the uncomfortable truth.
A football victory march is easy because it is joy, identity, banter, music and vibes. A protest is risk, police, tear gas, arrest, job loss, injury and sometimes death. You cannot compare the two as if people are choosing Arsenal over liberation. People are choosing comfort over sacrifice because the pain has not yet crossed the point where staying home feels more dangerous than going to the streets.
That is why these 8am to 6pm CBD protests, almost arranged like someone is reporting to a job, will never shake a regime properly. People come, shout, run from police, take photos, trend for a few hours and go back home before darkness. The government simply waits them out.
A real people’s movement is not an office-hours activity. It is not something you squeeze between breakfast and supper. It is built when the anger is deep, widespread, fearless and impossible to manage with police trucks and press statements.
So stop blaming Arsenal fans. They have only exposed what we already know. Kenyans can gather when they want to. The problem is that, politically, the country is still not angry enough.