Police officers block protesters from gaining access to Nairobi's Central Business District on Thika Road during the Saba Saba protests on July 7, 2025.
Deaths, injuries and looting marked the 35th Saba Saba Day commemoration, even as multiple roadblocks and hundreds of police officers deployed in Nairobi and towns across the country barricaded many Kenyans in their homes, turning the capital’s Central Business District (CBD) into a ghost town.
The police plan to manage protests in Nairobi centered around the extensive deployment of officers on major roads leading into the capital, with access limited only to government workers and a few other categories of private sector workers who were subjected to thorough scrutiny and interrogation at the roadblocks.
There were more than 25 roadblocks situated at strategic points on different roads leading to Nairobi’s CBD.
Stranded aassengers at Kangemi area in Nairobi after police officers blocked all roads leading to the city center on July 7, 2025.
Reliable sources informed Daily Nation that the Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, Deputy Inspector General Gilbert Masengeli, acting DIG Patrick Tito and DCI boss Mohammed Amin were holed up in a high-level meeting at the National Police Service headquarters, Jogoo House, planning the Saba Saba deployment plan until late Sunday night.
The meeting was the last in a series of strategy sessions held over the weekend, both at Jogoo House and the Office of the President, to discuss the deployment and containment measures ahead of the Gen Z led protests.
The final meeting passed a resolution that the police would completely seal off Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) from protesters.
“The structure we put in place ensured criminals did not get get a chance to invade properties. But many Kenyans got inconvenienced by not getting to their places of work or opening business,” said Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen yesterday evening.
The National Police Service said 11 deaths were recorded while the Kenya National Commission for Human Rights Vice Chairperson Raymond Nyeris announced that it had documented 10 deaths, 29 injuries, 2 abductions and 37 arrests across 17 counties as of Monday 6.30pm.
Protesters carry their injured colleague during Saba Saba protests in Nairobi on July 7, 2025.
“We are sorry but our intentions were positive and our desire was to save lives and property. Police minimised the damage today though there are reports of looting… we will investigate all these incidents and take appropriate action,” added CS Murkomen.
Road closures were reported on Thika Road at Kahawa Sukari, Roysambu, Allsops, Guru Nanak and Ngara; while on Wayaki Way there was blockade at the Kangemi flyover.
Mombasa Road was closed on GM Motors, Ngong Road at the City Mortuary roundabout, Valley Road near the Department of Defence and the Integrity Centre, Juja Road at the Pangani interchange and Lang’ata road near T-Mall.
Protestors march along Thika Road as they attempt to access Nairobi's CBD during the Saba Saba protest on July 7, 2025.
Heavy police deployment was observed at the roundabouts connecting Uhuru Highway with Kenyatta Avenue, Haile Selassie Avenue, Moi Avenue and in the vicinity of Parliament Road and Harambee Avenue. The gridlock paralysed key routes into and out of the city.
In an interview with the Daily Nation on Sunday, IG Kanja had revealed plans to double the number of officers deployed to the CBD to prevent the kind of looting and vandalism witnessed during the June 25th protests.
At about 1 a.m. Monday, truckloads of police officers began rolling into the city acting on instructions not only to block access to the CBD, but also to instruct those already in to vacate.
Suspected protest organisers
“We want to make sure that there will be no looting and vandalism. Every street and every corner will be patrolled by the police,” the IG said.
He also directed that all traffic police officers in the country would be required to join their colleagues in the General Duties Desk to deal with the protests. The traffic officers were directed to be be dressed in their jungle green uniforms and not the traffic uniforms that they are used to.
In Nairobi, the traffic cops were directed to report to the station commanders at 1am on Monday.
Protesters block a section of Ngong Road in Nairobi during Saba Saba protests on July 7, 2025.
By morning, hundreds of Nairobi residents who tried to make their way into the CBD were turned away by armed officers stationed at key access points.
National Police Service spokesman, Michael Muchiri Nyaga, said the officers enforced the security plan to the letter.
“We however saw cases of theft and hooliganism outside the city. These were criminals and not protestors. We have made arrests and we are going for more,” he told Daily Nation last evening, adding that police were compiling data of the arrests made on Monday.
The security plan had been shared with top national security organs, including the National Security Council (NSC).
Besides doubling personnel, police maintained key elements of the July 25 operation. These included perimeter lockdowns and restrictions to prevent demonstrators from assembling in strategic areas.
According to senior security sources who spoke to Daily Nation, the revised operation plan aimed to flood the CBD and surrounding areas with law enforcement personnel in an effort to neutralise any demonstrations before they could gain momentum.
This strong deployment came in the wake of serious lapses in previous protests where criminals took advantage of the chaos to loot shops and torch businesses, particularly in the OTC area. Property worth millions of shillings was stolen and several traders suffered devastating losses.
To pre-empt a repeat, police not only fortified city deployment but also intensified a nationwide crackdown on suspected protest organisers and perpetrators of previous violence.
Last week, police launched a major operation to arrest individuals caught on camera looting and burning property during earlier protests.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is also pursuing individuals believed to be involved in organising the Saba Saba demonstrations.
On Friday, drama unfolded at the Ruiru Law Courts when armed officers stormed the premises and re-arrested DCP Kiambu youth leader Peter Kinyanjui, alias Kawanjiru, moments after a court had released him.
Mr Kinyanjui is under investigation in connection with violence during the June 25 Gen Z protests. Officers fired several rounds in the air to disperse a crowd that had attempted to prevent his arrest.
He was eventually bundled into a waiting van and driven to an undisclosed location.
Shortly thereafter, a scuffle broke out at the Kiambu Police Station where youths clashed with officers following the re-arrest of Wanjiku Thiga also under investigation over the July 25 protests. Ms Thiga had just been released on a Sh50,000 bond by a Kiambu court.
At the DCI headquarters in Nairobi, investigators from the Serious Crimes Unit have summoned more than a dozen individuals to record statements about their role in protests planning.
Among those questioned last week was Karatina MCA Watson Weru, a key ally of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. Mr Weru, along with several others recorded statements at DCI headquarters on Wednesday in connection with their alleged involvement in mobilising protesters. He is accused of distributing vuvuzelas and whistles to demonstrators, a move police claim amounted to incitement.
