On a buzzing August evening in Nairobi’s Kibera, the energy was palpable. Under the glow of spotlights, a young woman glided down the catwalk, her white dress splattered with fake blood and a strip of tape across her lips declaring: “Stop, silence, gender-based violence.” The annual Mr. and Ms. Kibera pageant, now in its twentieth year, was in full swing, but this was no ordinary beauty contest. Here, fashion and activism collided, giving the youth of Kenya’s largest informal settlement a rare and powerful platform to speak out against injustice, violence, and the struggles that shape their daily lives.
The pageant, held on church grounds in the heart of Kibera on August 16, 2025, drew hundreds of attendees. For many, it was a chance to cheer for friends, family, and neighbors, but also to bear witness to something deeper: young people taking a stand. Contestants didn’t just strut for style points; their protest acts and impassioned speeches were critical to their success. One contestant’s tank top, emblazoned with “Stop killing us,” echoed the pain and frustration that’s been building across the country.
According to AFP, the pageant has become a vital outlet for expression and protest, especially in a year when Kenya has been rocked by waves of anti-government demonstrations. In June and July 2025 alone, 65 people lost their lives in protests, with rights groups pointing to police brutality as a long-running and unresolved issue. These deaths are not just numbers—they are reminders of a nation grappling with the consequences of unrest and the urgent need for accountability.
The United States’ annual State of Human Rights report, released earlier this month, paints a stark picture of the situation. According to Eastleigh Voice, the report highlights a significant decline in human rights in Kenya over the past year, marked by unlawful detentions, extrajudicial killings, torture, and transnational repression. The report zeroes in on the nationwide Gen Z protests of June and July 2024, accusing Kenyan authorities of numerous abuses, including arbitrary arrests, excessive force, torture, and extrajudicial killings. The numbers vary: the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) reported 60 deaths, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) counted 50 deaths and 199 injuries, while the Interior Ministry put the death toll at 42.
“Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings; disappearances; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; arbitrary arrest or detention,” the report stated. The US assessment also called out restrictions on freedom of expression and media, with at least 24 incidents of harassment and violence against journalists. Among the victims were Catherine Kariuki of MediaMax Network, who was shot with non-lethal pellets by police, and CNN Africa correspondent Larry Madowo, who was targeted with tear gas.
It wasn’t just journalists who faced intimidation. Civil society groups documented the arrest and charging of activist and blogger Francis Gaitho in July 2024 for publishing what authorities called false information on social media. Others suffered physical attacks, imprisonment, and even enforced disappearances. The case of human rights defender Bob Njagi stood out: after planning protests, he was held incommunicado for 32 days before being released on September 20, 2024. “The government neither officially acknowledged the three were missing nor complied with a court order to produce them in court. After 32 days of incommunicado detention, the three men were released on September 20,” the report noted.
Legal limbo is another persistent problem. While the government claims the average pretrial detention is 14 days, there are reports—according to the US State Department—that some detainees spend two to three years in prison before their cases are resolved. This, despite statutory limits designed to protect citizens from indefinite detention.
Gender-based violence, a central theme at the Kibera pageant, has reached crisis levels. Activists have labeled it a “femicide” and demanded urgent government action. The US report took note of a rise in femicide cases and the continued practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), especially in rural areas where enforcement of laws criminalizing the practice remains weak. “The government did not enforce the law effectively, although government officials often participated in public awareness programs to prevent the practice. Nevertheless, some communities practised FGM/C widely, particularly in rural areas,” the report stated.
Transnational repression also reared its head last year. On November 16, 2024, Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was kidnapped in Nairobi by alleged Ugandan agents and forcibly repatriated. Earlier, a registered Ugandan refugee and 36 members of Uganda’s opposition party, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), were arrested in Kenya and sent back to Uganda. The Kenyan government claimed ignorance, while Ugandan authorities insisted it was a coordinated action—a chilling reminder of the risks faced by political dissidents in the region.
Amid these daunting realities, the Mr. and Ms. Kibera pageant offers a hopeful counterpoint. Its founder, Ben Ooko, told AFP, “Many people don’t see anything positive coming from a slum. Yet, there are hidden gems in our community just waiting to be discovered.” Ooko explained that the pageant teaches young people how to express themselves in public and build self-confidence. “We are looking at young people who are able to stand up and speak for the challenges of other young people,” he added.
The contest has a track record of transforming lives. Kepha Ngito, the first Mr. Kibera crowned twenty years ago, credits a scholarship from the pageant for helping him move off the streets. Now a development consultant, he regularly returns to Kibera to mentor the next generation. “We want to show the world that we have our own definition of beauty and that definition is resilience,” Ngito said. Another alumna, Pauline Akiniyi, who took part in 2016, has opened a women’s shelter in Kibera, proving the contest’s impact stretches far beyond the stage.
The 2025 crown went to 21-year-old nursing student Rozelda Kim, who pledged to use her victory to help her community and change perceptions about Kibera. “It’s not just a beauty pageant... It’s a microphone to speak louder,” Kim said. Her message was clear: “Your social background doesn’t define you.”
As Kenya faces a reckoning over human rights, police violence, and gender-based abuses, the voices from Kibera—amplified by a catwalk and a crown—are a potent reminder that change often begins at the grassroots. In a country wrestling with its conscience, the youth of Kibera are refusing to stay silent.
