As Kenya’s streets seethe with unrest, the storyline unfolding here echoes the moral quandaries faced by Marvel’s vigilante lawyer-turned-hero, Daredevil. Both narratives – factual and fictional – revolve around citizens frustrated with institutional failure and driven to reclaim justice outside of official channels.

In June 2024, Kenyans frustrated by government’s failure to rein in high cost of living took to the streets in protest against the Finance Bill that had proposed punitive taxes. The storming of parliament that resulted in about 20 deaths in Nairobi alone forced President William Ruto to veto the bill in a rare moment of popular triumph.

Fast forward to June 2025: the death of blogger Albert Ojwang in police custody and continuing economic hardship ignited new demonstrations, leaving 16 people – mostly youth – dead and hundreds injured across 27 out of counties.

In Daredevil, Matt Murdock resorts to masked vigilantism after witnessing law enforcement and political institutions fail to stop corruption in Hell’s Kitchen. Like Kenyan activists, he steps into the breach when formal channels collapse.

Kenya’s Independent Policing Oversight Authority has faced accusations of shielding state actors, prompting calls to indict high-ranking officials – investigations that echo those into police culpability in Ojwang’s death. Meanwhile, digital rights defender Rose Njeri was arrested for enabling critical emails to be sent to parliament, underlining shrinking civic space.

Similarly, in Daredevil, judicial and political systems are often compromised – leaving citizens with only a masked avenger to push for justice.

Kenya’s Gen Z, galvanised by social media hashtags and mobile communication, have driven two synchronised waves of resistance – from #OccupyParliament in June 2024 to renewed June 25, 2025 protests. Unlike traditional protests, this movement bypasses hierarchies, reflecting Matt Murdock’s independent fight for justice.

Kenyan authorities have repeatedly invoked “security concerns” to justify stern responses. Officials have called protests “terrorism disguised as dissent” and preemptively blamed opposition figures for orchestrating unrest. The deployment of live ammunition, tear gas, and shutdowns of media coverage have exponentially escalated tensions.

In Daredevil, the authorities frequently brand him a criminal, despite evidence of greater systemic corruption – a narrative parallel to how dissenters in Kenya are delegitimised.

In a bid to steady the ship, President Ruto entered into a “broad-based government” pact with opposition leader Raila Odinga in March 2025, even appointing ODM figures to his cabinet. This mirrors Murdock’s occasional alliances with principled insiders like Foggy Nelson and Karen Page.

Yet critics argue this alliance weakens democratic checks and balances. Daredevil’s alliances are equally fraught – helpful, but never free from compromise. Kenya faces increasing polarization – with resource allocation debates in counties and persistent regional disparities. Western leaders are already meeting to strategize ahead of the 2027 elections.

Hell’s Kitchen in Daredevil is similarly fractured: neighborhoods plagued by poverty, corruption, and violence, lacking reliable-official help.

Matt Murdock symbolises extreme accountability – taking the law into his own hands. In Kenya, grassroots activists have adopted symbolic vigilantism – hacking bills, shutting down roads, organising protests – blurring lines between legal civic action and defiance.

Both scenarios pose urgent questions: when institutions fail, what recourse do citizens have? And at what point does activism risk turning into chaos?

Both scenarios pose urgent questions: when institutions fail, what recourse do citizens have? And at what point does activism risk turning into chaos?

Like Daredevil, the Kenyan drama exhibits both heroism and peril in the struggle for justice. Activists and Gen Z leaders are

Kenya’s version of costumed crusaders, while state actors may hazard crossing moral lines in pursuit of order. Unlike comic-book arcs, though, Kenya’s narrative remains raw, unresolved – and unfolding.

Investigation into police abuses continues, high-level accountability hangs in the balance, and evolving political alliances signal a high-stakes build-up to the 2027 elections. Whether the public’s demands for justice will reshape institutions – or force citizens toward ever more radical remedies – is Kenya’s real suspense. And unlike Netflix’s scripts, here there are no episode breaks.

• A Tell Media report / Compiled by Emille Martin