Exploring rebellion in Kenya’s 2025 protests against police brutality, abductions, and corruption. How do we fight a regime that keeps getting meaner?

YouTube video by B.C. Begley

Kenyan protesters have clashed with club-carrying young men, believed to be loyal to the government, in the centre of the capital, Nairobi. The demonstration, held in the wake of the death in custody 10 days ago of blogger and teacher Albert Ojwang, was called to demand the sacking of a top police officer. Police initially said that Mr Ojwang died of self-inflicted wounds, but were forced to retract the statement after an autopsy found that it was likely he died after being assaulted. Two policemen have been arrested in connection with the death. The protest comes amid simmering tension ahead of next week’s first anniversary of the storming of parliament by demonstrators. Earlier on Tuesday, there were pockets of violence in the capital’s central business district when groups of young men riding motorbikes, armed with whips and clubs, attacked protesters. Videos show the men – described locally as “goons” – seemingly working side-by-side with police, who fired teargas to try and disrupt the demonstrations. The police have denied any link saying that it has “noted a group of goons armed with crude weapons, in today’s protests… The service takes great exception and does not condone such unlawful groupings.” The Reuters news agency reported earlier that its staff saw the body of one man on the street with a head wound. The AFP news agency is quoting a hospital source as saying that the man was still alive but in a critical condition. In a statement, the police said it was aware of “an incident involving [the] shooting of an unarmed civilian by a police officer using an anti-riot shotgun”. The policeman allegedly responsible has since been arrested, it added. Officers had been deployed across key parts of the city, in an attempt to block protesters from accessing major intersections and government buildings. Deputy police chief Eliud Lagat has stepped aside as an investigation into Mr Ojwang’s death is under way. But activists want him removed from office as it was his complaint against the blogger that led to the young man’s arrest. The 31-year-old was accused of defaming Mr Lagat on social media. “We shall not be intimidated. We shall remain unbowed. We want Lagat to step aside,” one protester told the BBC. “We want the guy to resign and we want the guy to be arrested. We want him to sit there and answer questions, you know. [He is] still on the payroll, still enjoying taxpayers’ money,” another said. The situation in Nairobi remains tense. Most businesses in the city centre are shut and there are visibly fewer people than usual on the streets. Last year’s protests, led by young Kenyans, were against an unpopular finance bill which sought to introduce new taxes. It culminated in the protesters entering parliament on 25 June and forced the government to drop the controversial proposals. There are no contentious tax measures this year, but activists plan to build up momentum to what they are calling “a total shutdown” of business next Wednesday. – BBC Additional reporting by Akisa Wandera and Anthony Irungu The post Kenya protesters clash with men wielding clubs appeared first on The Namibian.

<p>NAIROBI, Kenya - Violent clashes erupted in Kenya's capital on Tuesday as protesters demanded justice for Albert Ojwang, a blogger who died in police custody on June 8, 2025. The demonstrations, wh...

Dozens of activists have staged a protest outside a mortuary in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, following the death of a 31-year-old man in police custody. Albert Ojwang’s death has sparked outrage in Kenya. He was arrested following a complaint by the deputy police chief, who accused him of tarnishing his name on social media. In an initial statement, police said Ojwang “sustained head injuries after hitting his head against a cell wall” while in custody. However, the Ojwang family’s lawyer, Julius Juma, says the body bore signs of severe physical trauma, including swelling on the head, nose and ears. Juma also cited bruises on Ojwang’s shoulders and hands – injuries which, he says, were inconsistent with a single impact against a wall. Kenya’s Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has launched an inquiry into his death. Holding placards and chanting “Stop killing us”, a crowd protested outside Nairobi City mortuary, where Ojwang’s body is being kept. The crowd later marched to the Central Police Station where Ojwang was being held at the time of his death. Ojwang was arrested in Homa Bay, a town in western Kenya, on Friday, over a post on X that was allegedly critical of the deputy inspector general of police, Eliud Lagat. He was subsequently transferred over 350km to Nairobi and booked into the Central Police Station on Saturday. According to inspector general of police Douglas Kanja, Ojwang was arrested after Lagat filed a complaint that his name was being “tarnished”. “It was on that basis that investigations were actually being carried out,” Kanja said at a press conference. Responding to mounting public pressure, Kanja announced that senior officers at Nairobi’s Central Police Station had been ‘interdicted’. Police spokesperson Michael Muchiri told the BBC that this means the officers could not perform their duties, and would receive half their salaries, pending the outcome of the investigation by IPOA. Kanja said the police would give the investigators all “necessary support” to resolve the case. Ojwang was found unconscious during a routine inspection of the cells and “rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival”, police say. The director of Amnesty International’s Kenya branch, Irungu Houghton, told the BBC that Ojwang’s death was “very suspicious”. Houghton says it was “quite shocking” that Ojwang was not booked in at the local police station after being detained, but was instead taken on a long journey. On Sunday, he called on the independent investigators to secure what he described as “the crime scene” at the police station in Nairobi. Ojwang’s death in detention comes at a time of rising concern about how some government critics are being treated. Last week, software developer Rose Njeri, who created a tool to help people oppose a government finance bill, was charged with violating a cybercrime law. She denies the charge. – BBC The post Protest hits Kenya after shock death of man held by police appeared first on The Namibian.