Kenya’s biggest protest in recent history played out on a walkie-talkie app

Zello, a walkie-talkie app developed by U.S. engineer Alexey Gavrilov in 2007, became the main tool protesters used to communicate, mobilize and coordinate during Kenya's June 2024 "GenZ protests." Six protesters told Rest of World the app helped them find meeting points, evade police and warn each other of danger. Zello was downloaded over 40,000 times on the Google Play store in Kenya between June 17 and June 25, according to company data, and it ranked third on Apple's App Store in Kenya from June 19 to 24, per Sensor Tower. Political analyst Herman Manyora said protesters turned their phones into walkie-talkies, and President William Ruto acknowledged the app's role on July 2.