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Using armed goons to disrupt demos new low

Using armed goons to disrupt demos new low
Armed goons confront protesters on Moi Avenue in Nairobi on June 17, 2025. PHOTO/Bernard Malonza

Since the eruption of Gen Z-led demonstrations in June last year, almost all subsequent protests have witnessed an alarming rise in two deeply troubling phenomena: unjustified police brutality and the infiltration of peaceful protests by hired goons with a political agenda.

These issues not only endanger the safety of protesters but also undermine the very essence of democratic expression.

The trend was illustrated on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, when thousands of goons armed with crude weapons menacingly marched on Nairobi streets alongside uniformed police officers as they harassed and assaulted protesters.

Even worse, a bloodthirsty police officer approached a peaceful man selling face masks and shot him at point-blank range, drawing condemnation from even the government itself.

The world over, the role of the police is to serve and protect citizens, ensuring that order is maintained while safeguarding human rights during protests.

Unfortunately, this ideal is becoming increasingly distant in Kenya, where incidents of police brutality during public demonstrations have become disturbingly frequent.

While law enforcers are supposed to maintain peace during protests, it is instead often the very officers who escalate tensions, turning what should be a peaceful assembly into a violent confrontation.

The failure to hold officers accountable for their actions only perpetuates this cycle of violence. While police brutality poses an immediate physical danger to protesters, a more insidious threat has emerged in the form of political manipulation.

Peaceful protests, an essential pillar of democracy, have increasingly become the target of political sabotage.

These goons are often hired by powerful political figures whose vested interests are threatened by the public’s outcry. The Constitution guarantees the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.

However, this right is often violated in the very spaces where citizens should be able to speak out against injustices.

When the government uses violence to silence its citizens or allows outside forces to corrupt the integrity of peaceful protests, it sends a clear message: dissent is not tolerated.

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