No, this viral video does not show Kenyans protesting against xenophobia in 2026
IN SHORT: Several social media users claim a viral video shows Kenyans protesting against xenophobia in 2026. But the footage was recorded during Kenya's 2024 anti-Finance Bill protests.
Posts circulating on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X show a large crowd of mostly young protesters filling a city street.
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Some are standing on top of a truck, others are waving Kenyan flags, and the crowd can be heard chanting "Who can bwogo me?" from the popular Kenyan song Unbwogable.
Most of the posts claim the video shows Kenyans protesting against xenophobia following president William Ruto's remarks about migrants operating small businesses in the country. A few claim the protesters were demonstrating against foreign traders. Posts in Arabic, Kinyarwanda and French also describe the footage as a Kenyan protest against xenophobia.
Collectively, the posts reviewed have attracted more than 75,000 views, 4,900 likes and 2,000 comments.
Kenya's foreign-trader debate
The posts emerged amid concerns about xenophobia in Kenya following Ruto's 2 September 2026 directive targeting migrants involved in small-scale businesses and informal trade. This caused anxiety among the traders, particularly Burundians. Some reportedly faced harassment, while others sought help from their embassies or considered leaving Kenya. The directive also drew criticism from opposition figures and rights groups.
The government later gave migrant traders 90 days to regularise their immigration status, work permits and business documents, and warned against harassment and vigilantism.
The controversy prompted wider criticism of xenophobia in Kenya and comparisons with South Africa, where anti-immigrant protests in June and July targeted "undocumented" migrants. Kenyan civil society organisations also warned against discrimination based on nationality, while Pan African activists threatened protests against Ruto if attacks and harassment continued.
Against this backdrop, the video began circulating as evidence of a large anti-xenophobia protest in Kenya. But is that what it shows? We checked.
Video predates the xenophobia controversy
A reverse-image search of keyframes from the video traces the footage to Nairobi on 25 June 2024, when thousands of Kenyans protested against the Finance Bill 2024. Reports from the day describe young protesters pouring into Nairobi's central business district and chanting "Who can bwogo me?" and "I am unbwogable".
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Some protesters were also reported to be riding on top of vehicles, matching the scenes in the circulating video.
There is no evidence of any protest of that scale that took place in 2026 against xenophobia or against migrant traders. While there was significant criticism of xenophobia and some calls for demonstrations, the video being shared as evidence of such a protest is from 2024.
