Until last year, Nelson Amenya’s life looked like a straight corporate arc charted for a brilliant and hard-working mind — a young designer, rapid rise at Carrefour, chasing an MBA in France, and a clear path into elite consulting. “Before I became a whistleblower, I had a very elaborate plan,” he says. Then came the 2024 Finance Bill protests in Kenya.
Living abroad and on summer break from HEC Business School in Paris, Nelson found himself glued to the events unfolding back home. With his X account newly reinstated, he began reposting videos and images from the streets.
“My friend was at Parliament when people were being shot. He was sending me pictures live. One of those got like 700,000 views,” he recalls. He didn’t think himself the hero in this story, rather, those that were on the streets were. “These people were willing to die for us!”
That moment pushed him from observer to participant. He became active in X spaces, urging young Kenyans to document safely and send material to the diaspora.
"I do not regret stepping forward, and I hope to return home to run for office and help build a better society."
“They can’t come to the diaspora and arrest us,” he remembers telling listeners. His role grew to that of organiser, amplifier and one of the voices of the movement.
Two weeks after June 25, a message landed in his DMs — quiet, almost casual. A stranger sent him documents on a proposed airport concession with India’s Adani Group. “It didn’t sound alarming,” he says. But the next day, curiosity tugged. He read the Hindenburg Report and froze.
Followed months of verification, cross-checking with government insiders, and ultimately the public exposé that derailed the deal.
It also placed a target on his back. “Sometimes, I’m scared,” he admits, speaking to threats, anonymous calls and warnings from sympathisers inside the security agencies.
He does not regret stepping forward and hopes to return home to run for political office to contribute to a better society.
-James Rogoi