Police seal off key roads in Nairobi as Kenya braces for Gen Z protests
Kenyan police have sealed off major routes into the capital in the run‑up to nationwide protests commemorating the two‑year anniversary of the violent anti‑tax demonstrations that took place in June 2024.
The 2024 protests saw more than 80 people killed and many injured, after demonstrators stormed parliament and called for the withdrawal of a controversial finance bill.
Massive roadblocks are now in place on the Thika Super Highway, Mombasa Road, Nairobi‑Namanga Highway, Kenyatta Avenue, Waiyaki Way and other arterial roads. Motorists and pedestrians are unable to reach the city centre and businesses have shut down.
Coils of razor wire are stacked outside a government building as armed security officers stand guard.
Security agencies have stepped up surveillance in Nairobi and other urban centres, deploying tear‑gas canisters and anti‑riot police. Footage from local TV shows fires and smoke in the Githurai area as protesters clashed with police.
In a rare public appeal, parents whose children perished in the 2024 rallies asked the government to allow them to remember their loved ones peacefully. "We don’t want tear gas and running battles in the streets. We are too old for that," one parent said to reporters.
Opposition leaders Kalonzo Musyoka, Martha Karua and Eugene Wamalwa joined families to lay wreaths at Parliament in remembrance of those who died.
Security agencies have heightened surveillance in major urban centres.
President William Ruto said on Friday that people have a right to protest but warned that anyone mobilised to destroy property or cause chaos would not be tolerated. He announced a nearly $15 million fund to compensate about 2,000 victims of protest‑related abuses from 2017‑2025, but human‑rights groups criticize the plan as insufficient and lacking transparency.
With the 2027 presidential elections looming, Ruto faces growing public discontent and accusations that his government has failed on campaign promises. He maintains that most pledges were fulfilled and is poised to defend the record as he seeks re‑election.
