Kenyan media personality and stand-up comedian Steve Thompson Maghana, widely known as Oga Obinna, has announced the postponement of the second edition of his Men’s Mental Health Awareness Walk, originally scheduled for Saturday, June 28, 2025.
Speaking during an interview on his YouTube channel on Monday night, June 23, 2025, Obinna said that the event has been rescheduled to Saturday, July 19, 2025, citing mounting safety concerns.
Obinna emphasised that Kenya is still grappling with widespread protests over police brutality and the upcoming memorial demo set to take place on Wednesday, June 25.
He expressed fears that holding his mental health walk just three days later could dilute its message or, worse, place participants at risk of being caught in tear-gas deployments or misidentified as protestors.
The former radio host further reassured supporters that the two-week delay is intended to preserve the integrity and safety of the initiative, focusing attention squarely on men’s mental wellness without the distractions or dangers of overlapping protest activity.
“Our men’s awareness mental walk, we have postponed it because right now we are talking about police brutality, and while we are talking about police brutality, the police are still being brutal in the same process. So there is a major mandamano on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, and if we have to do our men’s awareness walk on Saturday, June 28, just three days later, it might just lose the meaning, or wanaweza kuja watutear gas
“We are just pushing it for two weeks, the new date is July 19, 2025, same venue.”
Mental health awareness
Before it was rescheduled, the walk aligned with Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month in June, a time dedicated to highlighting the unique mental health challenges men face and fostering open conversations to combat stigma.
This observance is crucial, as men are statistically less likely to seek help for mental health issues and are nearly four times more likely to die by suicide compared to women.
Memorial protest
The planned memorial protests will commemorate the Gen Z who lost their lives during the 2024 anti-government protests.
Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka called upon citizens to observe the day through various commemorative activities.
“June 25th will be a public holiday – a solemn day to honour our fallen Gen Z heroes. We shall lay flowers along Parliament Road, light candles, and remember them with the dignity they deserve,” Kalonzo stated.
“We urge all Kenyans to honour our children and come with a rose and a candle. Their blood and sacrifice must not go in vain.”
