In an era where the relationship between citizens and authority grows increasingly complex, I Know My Rights emerges as a powerful voice from Kenya’s new generation of storytellers. This ‘straight outta campus story’ – is a chilling testament to the price of speaking truth to power, brought to life through Chief Ganga’s masterful cinematography that transforms Nairobi’s familiar streets into a claustrophobic maze of survival.
Set in the unforgiving concrete jungle of our capital, where student hostels have become hunting grounds and comrades learn to sleep with one eye open, the film’s three acts follow the journey of three young men, led by a compelling Derrick Kinyanjui as Monty alongside Lewis Musumba (Stevo), Jackson Kenyanya (Dan), Peter Saisi (Officer), Emily Nene (Lorna), Vivian Khasoa (Tiff), and Sonia Sparkles (Bee) as they navigate a system designed to break them. Their story could be any of ours – or worse, could be tomorrow’s headline we scroll past in guilty silence.
The narrative unfolds like a mirror showing Kenya’s current reality. Act One opens with a bold declaration: “I Know My Rights” – that naive certainty every Kenyan carries until their first encounter with authority. Act Two shatters this confidence with a haunting Do I? As we watch a once-confident Monty crumble under the weight of the chilling warning that Nairobi is becoming unsafe for someone with a mouth like yours, we recognize our silences, our compromises. When facing a police officer carrying out their personal vendetta against comrades, does anyone truly know their rights?
Act Three’s Or Do I? emerges not as a question, but as an act of defiance. Here, Monty refuses to wait for cavalry from a system that has already proven its indifference. It’s a revolution in whispers, in choices, in the courage to stand when standing means becoming a target.
Writer-director Lord Munga Brian and editor Joshua Wango have shown truly that sinema ni kioo cha jamii. Through masterful pacing and strategic use of graphics, they force us to sit with uncomfortable questions about our courage. The story hits harder because we know these characters: the passionate law dropout turned actor, the quiet friend whose voice emerges in crisis to save the day, and the silent observer who learns too late that neutrality costs more than resistance. The trio’s journey, enhanced by Wango’s precise editing, demands not just our attention but also our action.
The film refuses to deal in simple villains. Even the antagonist – an officer who lost a partner during student riots and now sees every young protestor as a threat – carries the weight of a system that turns victims into perpetrators. When the film asks “How do you lose 3 grown men?” we know it’s not just about the characters. It’s about the headlines we’ve normalized, the disappearances we’ve learned to scroll past, the silence we’ve mistaken for peace.
“I Know My Rights” arrives like a thunderclap in Kenya’s current political climate. As debates about civil rights, police reform, and youth participation in governance fill our timelines and empty our streets, this film doesn’t just observe – it mobilizes. It’s not content to be entertainment; it’s a call to arms wrapped in 24 frames per second.
I Know My Rights will be showing at the Kitale Film Week on Wednesday 5th February and Thursday 6th February.
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