As public debate over the role of activism in Kenya’s democracy intensifies, Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma has sparked fresh controversy with a stern warning against what he terms the growing ‘enterprise of protest’.

In his X account on Friday, June 20, 2025, Kaluma challenged the legitimacy of persistent street demonstrations, urging Kenyans to channel their grievances through established institutions rather than mobilising for mass action.

“A country where endless activism prevails is a country that cannot progress. You go to the streets, then? We can’t allow activism to thrive as if it were an enterprise here,” he posted.

“Kenya has institutions charged with various roles. Let’s petition them to act and hold them accountable… All rights and freedoms have limits except the three spelt out in Article 25 of the Constitution.”

His comments come against the backdrop of sustained civic resistance, most notably the #REJECTFINANCEBILL2024 protests in mid-2024, which saw youth-led demonstrations erupt across the country.

The rising demonstrations over the death of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang’ and the most recent case of police brutality in the shooting of a mask vendor, Boniface Kariuki, who was shot by a police officer during the June 18, 2025, protests, have fuelled reactions.

Kaluma, however, argues that such frequent demonstrations risk undermining state stability. He cited Article 25 of the Constitution, which outlines non-derogable rights, and contrasted them with Article 37, which governs the right to assemble—a right he believes should not be misused.

In his earlier post, Kaluma stated that the hawker, now confirmed as Bonface Kariuki, had been wrongly identified as Collins Omondi from Suba. According to the legislator, the false narrative was used to portray the incident as a targeted ethnic attack, allegedly by a police officer from the Rift Valley.

“The tribalists lied; he was Collins Omondi from Suba, shot by a police officer from the Rift Valley, and pretended to ‘mourn’ him so as to stir strife between the 2 regions. We thank God Bonface is alive and pray for his quickest recovery,” Kaluma posted.

The initial claim sparked heated debate online, with users expressing outrage over what they believed was a regionally motivated shooting. However, confirmation that the victim was Kariuki—and that he survived—has shifted the conversation toward the risks of weaponising protests with tribal undertones.

Kaluma’s remarks come amid his broader campaign against what he calls the “enterprise of protest,” where he has argued that activism, if left unchecked, could be manipulated by both local and foreign interests to destabilise the country.

The hawker shooting incident and subsequent misinformation appear to reinforce his concerns over the politicisation of street protests and the dangers of ethnic profiling in moments of national unrest.