Families of young Kenyans killed in the anti-tax protests have been demanding an apology and seeking damages from the government. Among the affected is Frank Okoth, who was thought to have died after being shot six times by anti-riot police. Frank spoke to Citizen TV on June 30 at his home in Land Mawe about the incident.

Frank was shot during the first week of the protests. Online videos show Frank helplessly lying on the stairs of a building in the Central Business District (CBD), writhing in pain. He wore a red shirt and a black-and-white backpack, with a bullet wound on his abdomen, gasping for air. Youths surrounding him desperately attempted to call for help. Initially, many thought Frank had died.

He was rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). Youths have been organizing nationwide protests for two weeks over the Finance Bill 2024, which President Ruto ultimately withdrew in response to mounting pressure. Now bedridden in his home, which he shares with his grandmother, Frank recounted his experience.

"Many assumed I had died," Frank told Citizen TV. He had joined the protests as a jobless youth seeking to address his plight. "Before the demonstrations, I had gone to look for work but was unsuccessful, so I joined the protests."

Frank was among those near the Parliament building when a group stormed the National Assembly. "There were many of us, but I was among those at the front. I started telling the police we came in peace, but they threw tear gas at us," he recounted. "The ones at the front were looking keenly, but the ones on the side are the ones who shot."

He was shot, and videos later showed him being carried into an ambulance and rushed to the national referral hospital. He woke up days later at the medical facility, where doctors had operated on him multiple times to remove the bullets.

"A friend of mine came and told me people had already declared me dead, but I assured him I was alive and well," Frank said. He was discharged but is now bedridden. He told Citizen TV he felt lucky to be alive.

"Since I left the hospital, no one is taking care of me. Life is just lying here as you see me; I can't even turn over," he said. His grandmother shares his struggle with pain and was burdened with a hospital bill of Ksh45,000. "The bill is forty-five thousand shillings, and I don't even have a single shilling. I have a book here, and I have only managed to raise five hundred shillings."

Frank urged fellow Kenyans to continue their struggle. "We must keep protesting until the day we achieve our rights," he added.