No, TikTok video does not show new Kenya protests over term limit changes
IN SHORT: A TikTok clip claims there was a "total shutdown" in Nairobi in September 2025 due to plans to extend presidential terms. But the footage is old and from a different town, not of a new demonstration in the Kenyan capital.
A 62-second TikTok video posted on 9 September 2025 is captioned: "Total shutdown Nairobi! Back to the streets, angry Kenyans [warns] Ruto for increasing term [limit]."
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It shows a crowd protesting, with a voice-over warning legislators against extending term limits. It is followed by different voices making strong warnings about attempts to do so.
The video then cuts to the account owner giving commentary and sampling more social media posts.
A longer version has also been uploaded to YouTube under the title: "Heavy demonstrations rocks in Nairobi today angry Kenyans rejecting term limit increase to 7 years."
The TikTok video has over 325,000 views and more than 12,800 likes, while the YouTube video has over 1,100 views.
Term limit debate
Kenya's constitution allows a president two five-year terms. In 2024, senator Samson Cherargei introduced a bill seeking to extend all elected terms, from five to seven years, and create a prime minister's office.
The proposal faced widespread opposition and was rejected by a senate committee.
In September 2025, social media buzzed with posts that a fresh bill had been tabled to revive the idea.
But the senate quickly disputed this, clarifying that the only bill under debate was one focused on strengthening the senate and devolution.
The viral videos piggybacked on this online uproar, suggesting that Nairobi was experiencing major protests over the issue.
But are these claims true? We checked.
Old protest footage
A reverse image search shows the protest footage is neither new nor filmed in Nairobi. At least one instance of the same clip was already online in June 2025, and we confirmed on Google Street View that the location is in Nakuru, two hours away by road from the capital.
There is also no credible evidence of large protests in Nairobi on or around 9 September. If such demonstrations had happened, they would have been widely reported.
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In fact, beyond the misleading titles and recycled footage, the video's commentary does not claim fresh protests in the capital. Instead, the creator offers political commentary and highlights other social media reactions, warning that Kenyans would protest if there was a bid to extend term limits.
The claims of a new bill proposing increasing term limits are inaccurate. Africa Check has previously debunked a viral video falsely claiming president William Ruto had proposed changing term limits.
