The Catholic Church has expressed its concern over the incidents that marred the protest against the murder of Albert Ojwang on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, within the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD).

Speaking during a presser on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, the clerics led by Nairobi Diocese Archbishop Philip Anyolo registered deep apprehension about the incident where a man was shot at close range by a police officer.

He also expressed concerns with the marauding goons seen robbing and unleashing terror on Kenyans, ostensibly working in cohorts with the law enforcement officers.

“We are saddened by the incidents that happened yesterday in the city of Nairobi during the protest against the killing of Albert Ojwang. We are especially saddened by the point-blank shooting of a non-violent citizen who seemed to be just an innocent Kenyan in the city,” he said.

“The free operations of groups of goons with poles robbing and beating up citizens, destroying properties and businesses without interference by security agencies,” he added.

Remain calm

Anyolo parted his speech with a call for the Kenyan youth to remain calm and look to God in the face of the ongoing challenges.

“We encourage all Kenyans to remain calm, especially our young people, in the face of the current suffering and be responsible in their responses to their social injustices in the country. Hope in God does not disappoint us. Therefore, let us continue to be guided by the spirit of God like Christ Jesus in the face of suffering for what is good and right,” he added.

The  Archbishop has further called for Catholics in Nairobi and beyond to pray the Holy Rosary for three days for four intentions.

The cleric cited the respect of human life and dignity, the law and order in Nairobi City and the entire country, and prayer for those who have lost their lives and their families and those who have lost their livelihood among the facets to be put in prayer.

The church’s condemnation follows after a coalition of civil rights organisations in Kenya also condemned what it described as a deliberate infiltration of peaceful protests in Nairobi by violent groups.

In a strongly worded joint statement on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, the Police Reforms Working Group, which includes Amnesty International Kenya, the Katiba Institute, and over a dozen other watchdogs, accused the National Police Service of failing to protect demonstrators and instead enabling violent agitators who unleashed chaos in the capital.

The groups reported that at least one unarmed bystander was fatally shot and more than two dozen others injured, five with gunshot wounds, during Tuesday’s unrest.

Private businesses and public infrastructure across Nairobi’s Central Business District were also damaged in what the coalition termed “uncalculated mayhem.”

Despite prior warnings issued by the coalition on June 17 urging police restraint and adherence to international human rights standards during demonstrations in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kilifi, and Kwale, the police are accused of having completely abdicated their constitutional responsibility.

“Our monitoring confirms widespread fears that the National Police Service failed to stop hundreds of masked agitators who were mobilized, transported, and deployed to attack government critics,” the statement said.