Chaos on Koinange Street in the Nairobi CBD as motorbike riders clashed with thugs carrying batons. The goons' bike was set on fire.
Club-wielding thugs, some armed with machetes, whips and stones, walked alongside uniformed police officers as chaos gripped Nairobi’s CBD, turning a peaceful protest demanding justice for teacher Albert Ojwang’ into a violent clash that exposed troubling ties between rogue police and hired goons.
From time to time, they barked orders at anti-riot officers, instructing them to lob teargas at the protesters - orders which the uniformed police obeyed.
This unholy alliance saw peaceful demonstrators teargassed and pushed back in a blatant display of double standards.
A mask vendor was shot in the head near Imenti House and is in critical condition.
Scenes from Moi Avenue, Nairobi CBD during the protests.
Police spokesperson Mr Muchiri Nyaga, however, downplayed the matter.
“We are trying to ascertain the claims. We are not able to verify them with a view to taking action,” Mr Muchiri told Nation.
By the afternoon, at least five protesters had sustained serious injuries and were treated by first responders stationed next to Jamia Mosque.
What began as a peaceful demonstration took a deadly turn when droves of goons rode into the CBD on motorbikes and infiltrated the protest.
“We didn’t know we were coming to fight the protesters,” narrated one of the goons. “We were told we were to guard shops in town from looting.”
“I knew it was risky, but I opted for the money,” he added, explaining that area coordinators and estate chairpersons - especially those known for mobilisation during political campaigns - were the ones who recruited them.
Korogocho MCA Absalom Odhiambo, alias Matach, in a viral clip last week, was captured encouraging the use of goons to scuttle the protests.
It was not immediately clear under whose instructions the goons were acting, but the disruption and crimes they committed pointed to a well-planned and executed scheme.
Some of the protesters and Kenyans caught up in the chaos had close shaves with the knife-wielding thugs, who openly mugged people.
People hold a Kenyan flag during a demonstration over the death of Kenyan blogger Albert Ojwang in police custody, in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, June 17, 2025.
Uniformed police officers deployed during the protests also defied court orders issued in August 2024 by Justice Bahati Mwamuye, which required them to wear name tags or identifiable service numbers and not to obscure their faces.
The violation of court orders was condemned by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK).
The LSK had filed a case citing that unidentifiable plainclothes police officers were subjecting civilians to extrajudicial killings, illegal arrests, abductions and violence.
“The court orders were clear, following the case filed by LSK through lawyer Dudley Ochiel. However, the police are operating in defiance of those orders, which is unacceptable,” said Mr Hosea Manwa, an LSK Council member.
There were also plainclothes officers who repeatedly hurled teargas canisters at journalists.
Operating with impunity, one uniformed officer - his face obscured - shot dead the mask vendor at close range near Imenti House before fleeing in a waiting police Land Cruiser, which sped off.
Amateur video footage captured two officers assaulting the vendor before one of them pulled the trigger.
The vendor, whom colleagues identified as Ali, lay in a pool of blood for over seven minutes before protesters rushed him to a hospital near the Archives area.
Goons on Moi Avenue in Nairobi on June 17, 2025 during protests following the death of Kenyan blogger Albert Ojwang.
“He was just trying to earn a living by selling masks. The police cornered him without asking anything and started beating him. Moments later, one of them shot him in the head,” said Ms Jane Atieno, a witness.
The killing infuriated protesters, who began chanting anti-government slogans and charged at the officers, forcing them to flee.
Some plainclothes officers in a police Land Cruiser also roamed the CBD, firing rubber bullets and teargas at demonstrators.
The vehicle bore no identifiable markings and its number plates had been removed, making it impossible to trace its origin.
From just after 9am, Nairobi’s streets came alive with anger. Crowds marched against police brutality, fuelled by the death of Mr Ojwang’, who died in police custody at Central Police Station last week.
The sight of officers walking beside the goons enraged protesters, who accused them of shielding those intent on causing chaos.
Videos that had circulated earlier had warned that the protest “wouldn’t go as planned”.
Recruited
Investigations by Nation reveal that the goons were recruited from different city estates, with most coming from Kawangware in Dagoretti North Sub-county.
On Tuesday morning, they assembled at a petrol station along Valley Road, where they were each given Sh2,000 before heading into the city on motorbikes.
“In the morning, motorbikes filled the station. Each tank was filled to the brim. Those present received Sh2,000 before they sped off towards the CBD,” said a businessman who witnessed the scene.
The protests aims to spotlight ongoing injustice concerning extrajudicial killings in Kenya.
As they approached the CBD from Valley Road, the riders and their passengers waved whips and shouted, “Hatukubali maandamano hii town” (We shall not allow protests in this town).
But once inside, the goons ran into a massive crowd of protesters on Moi Avenue. Some were assaulted and their motorbikes torched.
One goon trying to flee from protesters was cornered on Koinange Street and beaten as demonstrators demanded to know who had hired him.
At one point, a commanding officer ordered that journalists be cleared from the scene. Moments later, a teargas canister was hurled, scattering the crowd.
