Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has come out strongly to refute claims that his administration had a hand in the violent turn of Tuesday’s protests, insisting City Hall had no links to the chaos that rocked the capital.
Addressing the accusations head-on, Sakaja made it clear that neither he nor his government is affiliated with any groups accused of infiltrating the demonstrations to cause destruction.
“We have absolutely no association with gangs, militias, or politically driven actors who use protests as a cover for crime,” Sakaja stated on Wednesday.
He blamed the mayhem including looting, property damage, and attacks on public infrastructure on criminal gangs allegedly ferried into the city from outside Nairobi. According to the governor, these groups hijacked what began as peaceful protests and left a trail of destruction in their wake.
The cost? Billions in damages.
“What we saw last week and again on Tuesday was not just protest it was organized criminal activity,” he said. “People’s businesses have been destroyed. Public infrastructure, built with taxpayer money, has been reduced to rubble.”
Sakaja is now calling on the National Police Service to act swiftly and decisively to bring the perpetrators to justice, warning that if law enforcement fails to act, frustrated citizens may resort to vigilante justice.
He emphasized that while the Constitution protects the right to protest under Article 37, that right must not come at the expense of others’ safety and livelihoods.
“Democracy doesn’t mean lawlessness. We must protect both the right to assemble and the right to operate in a secure environment,” he said.
The governor also appealed directly to young people, cautioning them against being lured into destructive politics masked as activism. “Do not let yourselves be used,” he warned.
In a related concern, Sakaja condemned the police shooting of hawker Boniface Kariuki during Tuesday’s demonstrations and demanded a swift, thorough investigation into the incident.
“We cannot turn a blind eye to injustice from any side whether it’s rogue protestors or rogue officers. Everyone must be held accountable,” he concluded.
