Kenya’s Saba Saba Day demonstrations descended into chaos on Monday, as heavily armed protesters and alleged criminal gangs clashed with police across several counties, including the capital, Nairobi.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has raised alarm over what it called disturbing “collaboration” between hooded gang members and law enforcement personnel.
The rights watchdog said demonstrators wielded “crude weapons, including whips, wooden clubs, machetes, spears, bows and arrows” in protest hotspots, and that “hooded gangs were seen operating alongside police officers” in parts of Nairobi.
So far, KNCHR has documented 37 arrests linked to the protests, but fears more detentions and rights violations could follow.
In response, the National Police Service (NPS) dismissed the claims as unfounded. “These statements may lack factualness many times over,” a police spokesperson told AFP.
The NPS further denied ever working with what they called “goons or criminal elements,” referring to allegations of state-sponsored violence using paid agitators.
The demonstrations, which coincide with Saba Saba Day — a historic day of pro-democracy activism — have become a flashpoint for public anger over rising inequality, inflation, and political frustration.
Many protesters voiced discontent with President William Ruto’s administration, accusing it of failing to deliver on economic promises.
“The power belongs to the people,” said Rogers Onsomu, a 32-year-old motorbike driver in Nairobi. “This slogan of ‘Ruto Must Go’ — we will not relent.”
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Despite an uneasy alliance between Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga, discontent simmers among citizens with no clear alternative ahead of the 2027 elections.
Rights groups say at least 80 people have died in protest-related violence since June 2024. The previous mass protest on June 25 ended in tragedy, with 19 deaths reported.
Tensions escalated further on Sunday when a group of armed men stormed the Kenyan Human Rights Commission’s compound during a press briefing focused on enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
Activist Nerima Wako warned the cycle of violence may only worsen. “Every time people organise a protest, they kill more people — so it just continues to feed off itself.”
As the dust settles from Saba Saba Day’s unrest, concerns remain over Kenya’s political stability and the shrinking space for civil dissent.