All language subtitles for Global.Eye.S2025E04.1080p.iP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-HiNGS_track3_[eng]

This programme contains scenes which
some viewers may find upsetting

Welcome to Global Eye
from the BBC World Service.

Now, every week we bring you
the best of the World Service's

investigative journalism
and unmissable reporting

from BBC teams around the globe.

I'm Waihiga Mwaura, a BBC presenter
based here in Kenya.

Well, over the last year,
the streets of Kenya

have been boiling over
with frustration,

particularly among Gen Z.

These continued protests
are the culmination of anger

over accusations of widespread
corruption and poor governance.

Peaceful demonstrations here
last year turned deadly

after police crackdowns.

We'll share with you the
breakthrough BBC Eye investigation

on those protests and explain
what's happened since.

Also in this week's programme...

..the secrets of a people
whose brains are ageing more slowly.

What can we learn
about health and longevity

from an extraordinary community

living deep in
the Amazon rainforest?

For months, the mood here
in Nairobi has been raw and defiant,

particularly among Kenya's youth.

Now, this country has
a very young population.

Approximately three quarters
of its 56 million people

are under the age of 30.

So it's a powerful force
that has expressed real concerns

about its future.

The cost of living has risen,
youth unemployment is at 17%,

and over 40% of under-34s
are living below the poverty line.

Riot police have been told
to use whatever force

is necessary to put an end
to politically inspired unrest.

Kenyans have a long
history of protest,

with many Gen Zs
inspired by the 1990 protests

that restored multiparty
democracy here

and have become
a symbol of resistance.

Last summer, thousands
of young people,

many of whom felt betrayed by
what they saw as broken promises,

gathered here for protests
that soon turned deadly.

Well, to shed light on
what really happened,

the investigative team
at BBC Africa Eye

did a forensic deep dive into more
than 5,000 images of that day.

This is what they uncovered.

In June last year, blood
was spilt on the grounds

of Kenya's Parliament.

The month before, the government,

led by its president, William Ruto,
proposed its annual budget -

the 2024 Finance Bill.

If we are a serious state, we must
be able to enhance our taxes.

By raising taxes,
it promised to address

the country's growing debt problem.

But many young Kenyans, nicknamed
Gen Zs, didn't see it that way.

No more taxes!

On June 25th, everything changed.

More than 100,000 Kenyans
hit the streets of Nairobi.

Their aim...

..occupy the Parliament.

At first, security forces held them
back with tear gas and truncheons,

but as the day went on,
tactics changed.

At least three young men were
killed at Kenya's Parliament.

Among them was a 27-year-old
student, Eric Shieni.

That evening, President Ruto gave
his account of what had happened.

Today, an otherwise
legitimate expression

of the fundamental rights
and freedoms of assembly

was infiltrated and hijacked
by a group of organised criminals.

Though he regretted the deaths,
he thanked the security forces

and placed the blame squarely with
those he called organised criminals.

Since then, no official
investigation has been published

and no-one held to account
for the killings on June 25th.

But BBC Africa Eye has been digging.

We've mapped more than
5,000 photos and videos

to reconstruct those killings.

You could see he's clearly aiming,

meaning he was aiming to kill
as a message to them.

Now we can show you
exactly what happened.

We can pick out the killers
in the crowd,

we can reveal who they
were working for,

and we can offer an answer
to one simple question -

was there any reason to spill blood

on the grounds of
Kenya's Parliament?

Honourable members...

..we have quorum
to transact business.

June 25th, 2024.

Yes? Order.

9.30am at Kenya's Parliament.

We are dealing with a very important
issue of the Finance Bill.

Inside, MPs are filing in
for the last reading

of the government's Finance Bill.

Outside...
SHOUTS, WHISTLES AND CHANTS

My name is Ademba Allans.

I'm a journalist by profession,
currently in school.

On June 25th,
for me it was just a normal day.

I knew people would just be there,
shout, "Ruto must go!"

These things are being
livestreamed on national TV.

That's when I realised
that it was going to be serious.

Honourable members,
do we put the question?

By the time voting begins...

Will as many as of
that opinion say aye?

..numbers have hit over
10,000 in central Nairobi.

Now the numbers start getting bigger

and people actually
start getting arrested.

For three hours, more than 100,000
protesters pour in from the east,

the north and the west.

They unite and push towards
their target - Parliament.

Order, honourable members. Order.

Despite the chaos on the streets...

Go ahead and vote.

..MPs are still in the chamber.

I vote yes.

Tear gas and rubber bullets
hound the protesters.

GUNFIRE

But they keep coming.

People had one sole goal...

..to enter the Parliament.

By 2pm, police are mounting
a last defence

at the north-eastern
corner of Parliament.

Inside the chamber...

Nays, 106.

The ayes have it.

..the Finance Bill's voted in.

Word instantly reaches
the protesters.

After some of us getting
arrested and being beaten up,

they still pass it
to be an actual bill.

Now this is when everybody
is saying that, whatever happens,

we are going to enter
the Parliament and show the MPs

that we believe in
what we are fighting for.

At 2.20, they break through.

It is happening, guys!
It is happening!

GUNFIRE

SIRENS WAIL

They've reached Parliament.

People are inside the Parliament.

Over the next hour, demonstrators
break through the fence,

but don't make it inside.

After two of them are killed,
they try for Parliament again.

But this time they do
it differently.

People came in numbers.

Like, a whole stadium is there.

Most of them are just...

They fear for their life but
they want to get the Parliament.

One man at the front
of the pack stands out.

We saw him earlier,
but we still can't see who he is.

But in this one we can.

No jacket, but the gloves
are the same.

And the shorts match too.

His name is Eric Shieni.

On a normal day,
he'd be studying at university.

But today he's on the front line.

They were not running. They move,
walking, then they squat down.

The guards were overwhelmed.
There's nothing that they could do.

GUNFIRE

Despite the warning shots,

Eric stays with them
as they make their final push.

People now entered the Parliament.
People were inside the Parliament.

Once inside,
momentum turns to mayhem.

The damage is in the millions.

Even the chamber is breached.

Mr Speaker, sir,
I'm here to address you.

You must go. Ruto must go.

The destruction is severe
but short-lived.

After five minutes, they're leaving.

Maybe it's an adrenaline rush
or something, but your...

..your brain telling you
that somebody is going to die.

There's Eric.

Something spooks the crowd.

He's caught in the stampede,

and we lose him.

Ademba's right -
somebody's going to die.

GUNFIRE

What just happened?

Behind the smoke,
three bodies remain.

Two of them are wounded.

Ademba's there again,
leading the evacuation.

This person is heavily bleeding.

There is no ambulance,
so we carry him.

They are shooting us.
Why are you shooting us?

Why are you killing us?

I feared for my life, that my
parents would never see me again.

But I also feared to let other
people die when I could help.

But the third casualty's
beyond Ademba's help.

UNTRANSLATED

A bullet's torn through
the cap and its owner - Eric.

Eric Kayoni Shieni.

Good day. Good day. A perfect fit.
WOMAN LAUGHS

He was a 27-year-old student
of the University of Nairobi.

He studied finance.

I hope that his death
is not in vain.

And as long as we live,
we shall fight for justice for him

and the others who
died in the streets.

HE SINGS ALONG TO SONG

HE LAUGHS

Everything we've seen up till now
leads us to one question -

who killed Eric Shieni?

If we follow the trail
of evidence to the fatal shot,

we can find the man who fired it.

It starts with the protesters
leaving Parliament.

My name is Faith Odhiambo,

and I'm the president
of the Law Society of Kenya.

The video is very clear. It shows
that the protesters were walking out

of Parliament and when the shooting
starts, they were all running out.

As a reminder, Eric's here...

..in his yellow gloves.

GUNFIRE

We lose him for a moment...

..but pick him back up
as he reaches the exit.

A last flash of his yellow gloves,

and then Eric goes down.

Now we've got the gunshot,
we can get the shooter.

At first, the bedlam obscures
any clues.

Then this man steps into frame.

You could see he's clearly aiming.

So, meaning he was aiming to kill
as a message to them.

Have a look from another angle.

He's just 25m from Eric.

And there's no question where his
rifle is pointing.

The aim was to kill those
protesters.

Eric was just the unfortunate one.

With this video alone, our trail to
the shooter looks like it's ending.

But he's got a giveaway...

..his uniform.

A white shoulder patch,

a matte green helmet,

tan boots...

..and a solid stock rifle.

Perhaps that's enough.

Three minutes after the shooting,
a photographer caught these.

At first, the uniforms all seem
the same,

but there's actually subtle
differences.

Wrong headgear.

No shoulder patch.

Different rifle stock.

But what about him?

Same helmet, same boots,

and a solid stock rifle.

And the shoulder patch?

Were he the shooter, it would be on
his other shoulder,

which he shows in this video
shot seconds later.

There.

We scoured through more than
150 images of the scene,

taken within ten minutes of
the shooting.

In all of them, only one man matches
all the criteria on this list.

Him.

Eric deserved a fair hearing.

We don't know if he damaged
Parliament or not.

He wasn't aggressive,
he was leaving the premises.

They could have had him arrested.

But the fact that you shoot
his head,

it was clearly an intention to kill.

You have become the judge,
the jury

and the sentence executioner
for Eric.

Now, the BBC investigation
was front-page news

when it was released here,

and Amnesty International and
the Kenya Human Rights Commission

said the officers identified in the
documentary should face the law.

It was actually debated in Kenya's
Parliament

the day after its release.

If, as Kenya, we were able to
acknowledge that things went wrong

and we need to fix it,

then, Mr Speaker, even if BBC
aired it, it doesn't matter.

We have to fix our own problems
on our own.

In response to the protesters'
demands,

President Ruto has acknowledged
the youth unemployment crisis

and other challenges in the country,

but said these issues existed
long before he came to power

and that under his watch the economy
has stabilised.

Meanwhile, the demonstrations
did continue,

with more deaths this year

and simmering anger among
Gen Z protesters,

meaning the ongoing cycle seems
unlikely to be resolved

any time soon.

The 2027 elections for Parliament
and for the presidency

could offer an opportunity for
change and resolution,

but, for now, this seems
a long way off.

Here in Nairobi, it doesn't feel
like this movement is burning out.

Here's some of the other brilliant
BBC World Service content

you can catch this week.

Global News Podcast is the place
to get your daily fix

of news and analysis.

Check it out if you want to find out
more about President Trump's speech

at the UN General Assembly, or the
recent mysterious drone activities

at Danish airports.

And Denmark's growing security
concerns are the subject

of the weekly radio documentary
Assignment.

With the country dramatically
increasing its national service,

18-year-old girls are now facing
the call-up.

We've had rare access to a group of
those new recruits

as they undergo training.

Listen on BBC Sounds or wherever
you get your BBC podcasts.

Every week on Global Eye,
we want to take you to places

you don't always see in the news -

and this week we want to share
the story of a community

in a remote part of Bolivia
which has been described

in a scientific study as one of
the healthiest groups

ever to have lived.

Our BBC Mundo team went to meet them
to find out whether

a lifestyle that might seem
challenging to many of us

could actually hold the key to
a longer life.

This is the Maniqui River
in the Bolivian Amazon.

The area is home to the Tsimane,
a relatively isolated nomadic people

in the north of the country,
with a particular characteristic.

Many of the older members of this
community maintain exceptional

physical and mental vigour until
very old age...

..something that has attracted
the attention of scientists.

This is Martina Canchi Nate.

She is 84 years old.

That vitality that we were
warned about

left us breathless in a short time.

Two studies, published between
2017 and 2023,

found that the arteries of these
older people are much younger

than those of people of the same age
in other countries,

and that their brains also age
more slowly.

In the town of San Borja, the
closest to the Tsimane territory,

American anthropologist
Hillard Kaplan has been studying

the health of this ethnic group
for two decades.

One of the things we could say is a
75-year-old Tsimane's arteries

were more like a 50-year-old
American's arteries.

Kaplan and his colleagues found that
85% of these older people

had zero risk of heart disease,

and that half of those over 80
did not even have signs

of calcification in their arteries,

one of the main indicators of
arterial disease.

They also did not have problems
with obesity,

hypertension or hyperglycaemia.

But what is the secret of their
good health?

A key factor is their diet.

Husband and wife Hilda and Pablo
invited us

to harvest rice in their field.

This is what the Tsimane
have done ancestrally,

basing their diet on fishing,
hunting and gathering.

THEY LAUGH

We accompanied Juan Gutierrez on
a day of hunting.

The physical routine of the older
Tsimane is another determining

factor of their health.

Grandparents, like Juan, walk on
average 17,000 steps per day.

In Europe, the average is
approximately 6,000 steps.

Diet and physical activity
mean that the older Tsimane

have 70% less muscle atrophy
than people of the same age

in the United Kingdom, Japan
or the United States.

And just like their arteries,
scientists found that their brain

also ages more slowly.

The fact that surprised the
researchers is that

the loss of brain function is 40%
slower in the Tsimane.

Dementia, particularly Alzheimer's,
is less frequent.

Despite their great physical
condition, the older Tsimane

constantly suffer from inflammation

or parasitic diseases detected
in 100% of the volunteers.

When they need medical assistance,
they have to travel to the city.

Dr Daniel Rodriguez is a member
of the team that studies

the ageing of the Tsimane.

Scientists highlight the very
tough conditions

the Tsimane people must endure.

For years, life expectancy was
hampered by high maternal

and child mortality.

When the studies began,
life expectancy was around 45 years,

but this exposure to infectious
and parasitic diseases could be

a third key factor in the longevity
of the Tsimane.

For this reason, experts are
studying how their immune system -

which is more balanced against
bacteria and parasites -

protects them from arterial
diseases.

The Tsimane feel proud to know that
their ancestral lifestyle is now

a health reference beyond
the forest.

THEY LAUGH

Well, thanks for joining me in
Nairobi.

Now, next week, Global Eye will be
reporting from Cuba.

Goodbye.