On 7 July 1990, a date that gives the event its name, Saba Saba meaning seven seven in Swahili, Kenyans took to the streets of Nairobi demanding the return of multiparty democracy. Security forces attacked the crowds. At least 20 people were killed. Hundreds were injured. Leading pro-democracy activists Kenneth Matiba and Charles Rubia were arrested and detained. Rather than silence the movement, the crackdown galvanised it. The Saba Saba protests of 1990 and their aftermath built the pressure that eventually forced Moi to allow multiparty elections in 1991.