At least 10 killed, 20 severely wounded with bullets in Saba Saba shutdown

President William Ruto’s bloodthirsty government on July 7, 2025, claimed the lives of at least 10 people who were shot dead in various parts of the country during protests to mark 35 years of Saba Saba Day.
Two of the victims were shot in Kangemi on Nairobi’s Waiyaki Way where three others sustained serious gunshot wounds.
One of the shot persons in Kangemi was reportedly not a protestor but a resident heading home from work when he was hit by a stray bullet, according to a witness.
Reports indicated that three other protesters were shot dead in Ngong, Kajiado county, as police dispersed members of the public who had blocked roads in the area.
A woman trader was shot dead in Nakuru as police confronted suspected looters.
The emergency wing at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) was last evening busy trying to save the lives of dozens of people wheeled into the facility with severe bullet wounds.
Close to 30 people were received at the national referral facility, according to a source whose identity could not be disclosed immediately due to protocol reasons.
Most of the casualties, from estimation, he said we’re from Ngong’ followed by Kitengela and other parts of the city.
“I have counted more than 20 casualties. They have severe gunshot wounds. It will be luck for most of them to survive,” he told People Daily last evening, pointing out that some had bullets tears through their neck.
A spot check at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital in Embakasi West sub-county revealed the same predicament.
A pharmacist who spoke on condition of anonymity indicated that the hospital administration had to summon admitting and ward staff to the facility late last evening.
“We have been instructed to report early to the hospital, even those who were supposed to work during the day, have been asked to report,” the pharmacist said without divulging more details.
A medical officer at Eagle Nursing Home in Kangemi, Dr Aron Sikuku said their facility received two bodies, both with gunshot wounds.
There was a temporary disruption of services as hundreds of protesters thronged the facility to take away the bodies.
Dozens of injured protesters were unable to access urgent medical assistance since most of the roads had been blocked, frustrating ambulance services.
Two supermarkets—Khetia’s and Quickmart on Nairobi’s Kamiti Road were looted. Police arrested eight people who were cornered inside the Quickmart supermarket.
The Saba Saba are in celebration of the courage and sacrifices of the 1991 pro-democracy agitators who called the historic Kamukunji rally that planted the seed for the restoration of political pluralism.
Police disrupted the 1991 rally, and protests erupted in six towns across Kenya as citizens took to the streets, demanding free elections and an end to the one-party dictatorship.

The government responded with brutal force, resulting in the deaths of 20 people and the arrest of over 1,000 demonstrators.
The Saba Saba demos paralysed businesses and operations in Nairobi and major towns.
Businesses including shops, supermarkets, banks and private offices across the counties remained closed as owners remained cautious of looting in previous rounds of protests organised by the Gen-Z.
Transport on major highways was affected with light traffic witnessed on the roads. Many public service vehicles were grounded with the few that were operating charged almost double the fare on their routes.
Gen-Z said they were seeking the audience of President Ruto as part of their crusade for economic inclusion, end of corruption, lower taxes, access to education funding, fiscal discipline and good manners from the governing elite.
There has been a growing frustration among the Kenyan youth over Ruto’s rule which, they say, is robbing them of their future.
Nairobi was under total lockdown, with police barricading all major entry roads into the city centre.
Commuters and pedestrians were the most affected as they were forced to alight kilometres away from the CBD and denied entry into the city, despite Deputy Inspector General Gilbert Masengeli claiming no one would be stopped from entering the city.
Public transport was paralysed with countable matatus ferrying passengers from the outskirts of Nairobi to be denied entry.

Boda boda riders eyeing to make a kill by transporting passengers from the drop-off points to their destination were constrained due to the numerous police barriers blocking access to the city centre.
Police used their trucks, stones and mounted spikes to block motorists from going beyond the designated areas.
Inside the CBD, all shops were closed, and parking lots were vacated save for a few vehicles that were spotted traversing the otherwise busy streets on an ordinary day.
Pedestrians who were lucky to make their way into the CBD were also spotted walking, albeit hurriedly, to their workplaces.
The heightened security situation at the capital city inconvenienced travellers transiting from upcountry to other destinations and those flying out of the country.
Irene Omala, who was scheduled to fly out to Dubai for work, was left helpless as police blocked Western region buses bound for Nairobi at Kabete Police Station from as early as 4 am.
“I don’t know what will happen because I was to catch my flight to Dubai at 12 pm, where I was to start my new job from tomorrow (today). We are being directed to use the Southern bypass, yet our bus was to drop us in the town centre. I don’t have money to pay for a cab from here to the airport,” Omala said.
An Easy Coach bus driver who was stuck at Kabete told of how his passengers were trapped inside the vehicle since dawn, as he feared using the Southern bypass over insecurity.
“We arrived here at around 4:30 am in the morning, and we were told that there were orders blocking PSV headed to the town centre from going beyond this area. I am carrying passengers, some with small children who are crying due to hunger, and some are saying they are headed to hospital. I think the police should intervene and escort us to town for the safety of our passengers,” the driver said.

He further claimed that some youth had blocked the exit to Southern Bypass on the Nakuru-Nairobi highway in the early morning hours to extort money from motorists trying to access Nairobi CBD from the road.
“The youth were demanding money from the drivers to allow their vehicles to divert to the bypass that the police are forcing us to use. I could have put the lives of my passengers at risk,” the driver said.
With police anticipating a multitude of protestors trying to gain entry to the city centre on foot from the Thika Super Highway, there were three heavily guarded barricades by tough-talking security officers from Roysambu to Pangani, a distance of about 10km.
Other blockades were on Kiambu Road, Kenyatta Avenue, Jogoo Road and Valley Road causing traffic disruption for the few vehicles that were on the road.
Additionally, nearly all primary and secondary schools remained closed as no learners reported to the institutions.
Last week, school heads issued notices to parents not to take their children to school on Monday, July 7, 2025, fearing that the planned Saba Saba protests would turn chaotic, putting the lives of learners at risk.
Despite PSVs dropping passengers away from the CBD, police conducted thorough searches on travellers coming from Nairobi suburbs.
“The police frisked us and checked our bags at Kamandura. We were told to show our identity cards,” James Wanjeri who was travelling from Limuru to Nairobi said.
Notably, police, leaving no room to gamble, also laid razor wire to cordon Parliament Road and all major roads leading to State House, a similar tactic used on June 25, 2025, when Gen-Z held protests to remember their counterparts who were killed by police last year.
Additionally, public offices remained closed even after Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku directed civil servants to report to work on Monday insisting the Saba Saba day was not a public holiday.
In some towns like Naivasha, there were reports that national government administration officials had ordered the shutdown of public offices, citing the risk of attacks by protestors.
In Kirinyaga, the youth lit bonfires in Ngurubani town, paralysing transport along Embu-Mwea highway, while the Kerugoya-Karatina road was barricaded by protestors at Kagumo town.
The situation was similar in former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s backyard towns of Nyeri and Karatina where business remained closed all day long
Many businesses remained closed in Eldoret. Police fought off some protestors who had tried to break into a wholesale shop leaving shattered glass windows.
But residents of Luo Nyanza shunned the calls for protests to mark the Saba Saba commemoration where many towns including the lakeside city of Kisumu people went on with their daily activities unperturbed.
A group of youth were spotted carrying a placard that read: “Luo for peace.”

However, businesses in Kisii town also came to a standstill after several Gen Z youths stormed the streets of Kisii town, forcing traders, shopkeepers and supermarket owners to keep off their businesses to avoid looting.
Court operations were also affected, and some litigants kept off the premises after matatu operators withdrew their vehicles from the roads.
Sameta Mokwerero Ward Representative Joseph Ondari in Kisii county said protesters stopped him at Kiogoro market on Kisii- Kilgoris road and demanded money from him.
“I was perturbed when youths barricaded the road with boulders and tried to extort. It was not a protest but a robbery with violence” Ondari told the People Daily in Kisii town.
However, in Nakuru and Machakos, businesses were at a standstill as owners feared looting and destruction of property witnessed during previous protests.
By midday, anti-riot police in Githurai and Kitengela engaged protestors in running battles along Thika Road and Namanga Road, respectively, to prevent them from heading towards Nairobi CBD.

In Molo, businesses came to a standstill as a section of the youth engaged in running battles with police during the Saba Saba protests.
Tensions ran high as protesters barricaded major roads, paralysing transport and daily business activities in the usually busy town.
Key roads including Molo–Nakuru, Molo–Olenguruone, and Molo–Mau Summit were rendered impassable for the better part of the day as demonstrators lit bonfires and blocked access points with stones and makeshift barriers.
Marioko Muraya, the chairman of the Molo Business Community, condemned the disruption, stating that some traders had taken precautionary measures by reinforcing security at their premises following last week’s violent incidents.