Several men who violently disrupted a peaceful protest in Nairobi earlier this week have confessed they were hired and paid to sabotage the demonstrations, raising serious questions about political manipulation, impunity, and police complicity.
The protests, held on Tuesday, were organized to demand justice for blogger Albert Ojwang’, who allegedly died in police custody, and to call for the resignation of Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat. Protesters had taken to the streets in what began as a peaceful march before a coordinated group of armed goons, wielding jembe sticks and other blunt weapons, descended upon them.
Eyewitness videos showed the attackers moving unchallenged near City Hall and even receiving apparent protection from police, triggering widespread outrage online and offline.
While both the National Police Service and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja have denied any involvement, an investigation by Citizen TV unearthed chilling revelations. Reporters tracked down some of the attackers across Kibera, Korogocho, and Dagoretti, where they found injured and disgruntled individuals nursing wounds and venting frustration.
“We were promised money to scatter the protesters, but most of us were never paid. Instead, we ended up in pain and hiding,” one of the goons admitted anonymously.
Many say they were assembled at specific Nairobi locations, including Dennis Pritt Road junction and Green Park, where they received instructions and weapons. Several have since fled upcountry, fearing retribution, while others have gone online pleading for forgiveness.
A viral video taken outside City Hall showed the same group in a casual march before their attack, raising further concerns over official coordination and command.
So far, no arrests have been made, and no charges filed against anyone involved in supplying weapons or coordinating the attacks. Even as some of the attackers publicly confess, the silence from law enforcement has only deepened mistrust.
In a chilling development, new online videos have surfaced, allegedly from the same group, threatening future protests, intensifying public fear over what critics are calling state-backed sabotage of civic dissent.
Civil society groups have condemned the violence and are demanding an independent probe into the incident, including questioning of police officers allegedly seen escorting the attackers.
As the country braces for more demonstrations, the revelation has cast a dark shadow on Kenya’s democracy, where the right to protest is increasingly under threat from paid suppression and unchecked impunity.
Written By Rodney Mbua
