2025 World Press Photo finalist: Luis Tato of Agence France-Presse
By 2025, a new generation of Kenyans had transformed outrage into organised resistance. The photographs of Luis Tato, finalist in the 2025 World Press Photo contest, capture this seismic shift in Kenyan civil society with unflinching clarity and a lens sharpened by empathy.
In mid-2024, Kenya’s National Treasury announced a deeply unpopular finance bill proposing sweeping new taxes on everyday essentials—from bread and cooking oil to mobile transactions. Framed as a strategy to manage the country’s ballooning debt, the move struck a raw nerve. With unemployment high and living costs surging, young Kenyans—many of them students, first-time job seekers, and small business owners—rose up in protest. What followed was one of the most powerful youth-led movements in the country’s history.
“Marked by Defiance” © Luis Tato, Agence France-Presse — used with permission World Press Photo
A young protester, drenched in pink-dyed water from a police water cannon, raises his fist in defiance. The dye, often used to mark demonstrators for later arrest, becomes a badge of resistance in this 20 June 2024 scene. The symbolism is potent—these youth will not be washed away.
World Press Photo Yearbook 2025 – available from our affiliate, Amazon
Organised largely over social media under hashtags like #RejectFinanceBill and #OccupyParliament, the demonstrations grew rapidly in scale and coordination. On 25 June 2024, anger reached a boiling point. Protesters stormed the gates of Kenya’s Parliament in Nairobi. What began as a peaceful march ended in bloodshed, with reports of police opening fire with live ammunition, abducting demonstrators, and using excessive force. At least two dozen protesters were killed, hundreds were injured, and countless others disappeared.
“Under Siege” © Luis Tato, Agence France-Presse — used with permission World Press Photo
A wall of uniformed police and armed security personnel guards Kenya’s Parliament as protesters advance. Taken during the pivotal 25 June demonstration, the image underscores the militarisation of civic spaces and the state’s aggressive posture toward dissent. That day’s violence drew condemnation from international human rights groups and calls for urgent police reform.
President William Ruto later withdrew the bill—but the damage was done. Into 2025, the protests have morphed into a broader call for justice, economic reform, and political accountability. In the streets, on campuses, and across digital platforms, Kenya’s youth have emerged as a formidable political force, demanding to be heard.
“The Cost of Protest” © Luis Tato, Agence France-Presse — used with permission World Press Photo
Chaos unfolds outside Parliament on 25 June 2024, as tear gas clouds envelop two protesters carrying injured companions. The image forces the viewer to confront the human cost of political expression in a fragile democracy.
At the heart of documenting this movement is photojournalist Luis Tato of Agence France-Presse. His finalist series in the 2025 World Press Photo contest—Kenya’s Youth Uprising—offers a visceral, frontline view of a generation confronting state violence, economic inequality, and institutional failure. With each frame, Tato brings us closer to the urgency, resilience, and raw emotion of the protests.
“Pushing Back” © Luis Tato, Agence France-Presse — used with permission World Press Photo
Protesters chant and push a makeshift barricade toward Kenyan police as tensions boil over in central Nairobi. The image, taken on 2 July 2024, captures the kinetic energy of a movement that refuses to retreat, even when met with tear gas and batons.
World Press Photo Yearbook 2025 – available from our affiliate, Amazon
A New Chapter in Kenyan History
The 2025 World Press Photo finalists tell stories that often go unseen or misunderstood. In Kenya, the images from Kenya’s Youth Uprising are already part of the country’s collective memory—a visual testimony to a tipping point moment.
While the government has made gestures toward reform, including an internal review of policing tactics and public consultations on economic policy, many young Kenyans remain sceptical. Trust, once broken, is hard to restore.
Yet there is hope, too—in the unrelenting spirit of those who marched, sang, and stood their ground. In the words of one protester scrawled on a cardboard placard, seen in one of Tato’s outtakes:
“We are the generation that will not be silenced.”
World Press Photo has long been a platform for truth told through images. In this case, truth comes with tear gas in the air, fists raised in defiance, and a photographer bearing witness for the world to see.
World Press Photo Yearbook 2025 – available from our affiliate, Amazon
World Press Photos global exhibition tour
The 2025 winning photographs will be featured in World Press Photos global exhibition tour, which spans over 60 cities worldwide, including:
| Amsterdam: 18 April – 21 September Rome: 6 May – 8 June London: 23 May – 25 August Berlin: 6 June – 29 June Vienna: 12 September – 9 November | Budapest: 10 September – 9 November Mexico City: 18 July – 28 September Montreal: 27 August – 11 October Jakarta: 12 September – 11 October Sydney: 24 May – 6 July |
For the full list of winners, visit: 👉 www.worldpressphoto.org
World Press Photo Yearbook 2025 – available from our affiliate, Amazon
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