Arrow Bwoy speaks out on claims his whipping during Gen Z protests was clout chasing
By Steve Ireri, September 27, 2025Kenyan artiste Arrow Bwoy has refuted claims that the police whipping he endured during the recent Gen Z protests was a scripted act tied to the release of his song ‘Mapambano.’
Speaking to YouTubers on Saturday, September 27, 2025, the musician clarified that while the song appeared to align closely with the incident, it had in fact been released before the fateful day when he was assaulted by police officers during the demonstrations.
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“So the song ‘Mapambano,’ I understand it came out immediately after the incident where police whipped me, but what people do not know is that I had already released the song before that incident,” he said.
He explained that the song was conceived to highlight the injustices and violence being experienced in society, particularly the killings and brutality against unarmed civilians at the height of the protests.
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According to Arrow Bwoy, he used his craft as a mirror of society, insisting that the track was never intended as a stunt for clout but rather as an artistic statement shedding light on the pain faced by ordinary citizens.
“The song was about highlighting what was happening in society, how people were being killed, because during that period of protests you would just see someone being shot yet they were not armed. So as a mirror of society I said let me use my talent to highlight that issue,” he added.
He pointed out that in the lyrics he had addressed the core reasons Gen Z were rising, particularly the rampant police brutality, and only a few days later, he personally encountered the reality when he was whipped during the protests.
The artiste noted that the incident confirmed to him that the brutality he had sung about was not imagined but indeed a lived reality that many young people were already experiencing in the streets.
He stressed that his whipping was genuine, painful and a stark reminder of the very injustice his music had sought to bring to the public eye.
“So, as an artiste and a mirror of society, I decided to use my talent to address the issue. It was never about clout. In the song, I had already spoken about how Gen Z were protesting against police brutality, and just a few days later, when I joined the demonstrations myself, I encountered that brutality first-hand when they whipped me. That was when I confirmed that the brutality was real,” he added.
The Gen Z protests, which erupted in waves across the country, had been marked by mass youth demonstrations against governance and social injustice, with police brutality becoming a key flashpoint.