Executive orders police to flout law in new tactics to handle protestors

The second anniversary of the Gen Z protests on Thursday saw Nairobi’s Central Business District turned into a testing ground for a new strategy of crowd control by the police.

It emerged that the orders were given to the police by the Executive, after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen defended the deployment of plainclothes police officers and undercover investigators during the June 25 Gen Z memorial protests.

“Sometimes that includes different number plates, sometimes hiding them, and in some cases officers wear uniforms while in others they do not. These measures are applied here and elsewhere for the purpose of protecting our officers,” Murkomen told the media in an update.

He claimed that, in the security sector, various measures are put in place to protect both security officers and operations.

“It is true DCI agents were embedded among demonstrators as part of a nationwide surveillance operation.”

But critics argue that the measures are in total contravention of the law and that these developments now place officers at risk of being held liable for ignoring court orders.

The use of high-end unmarked luxury vehicles, balaclavas, and face masks, as well as reliance on plainclothes officers to arrest and intimidate members of the public, attracted public ire, further exposing what critics describe as the administration’s continued flouting of the law.

A spot-check also revealed that the police force had adopted a new technique beyond the use of water cannons and teargas.

Officers are now also using long-range acoustic weapons that emit ear-splitting, disorienting sonic frequencies designed to scatter demonstrators through physical discomfort.

Pundits have faulted the government for relying on extrajudicial tactics to keep protesters at bay.

They argue that in the State’s bid to ensure officers achieve calculated anonymity, it has violated a court order requiring all officers to be easily identifiable during protests.

“With one year to the general elections, there is every reason to worry about the government and police tactics deployed to control protesters, as well as their blatant disregard of court orders. But I continue to remind Kenyans that citizens’ power can put an end to all this one day,” said security expert Eric Okeyo.

According to a High Court order issued by Justice Bahati Mwamuye in 2025, all police officers assigned to handle public assemblies, demonstrations, or picketing must be in official uniform and remain identifiable at all times.

“A declaration is hereby issued that any law enforcement officer deployed to maintain law and order during an assembly, demonstration, or picketing must be in uniform and shall not, in any way, conceal their identity, including by obscuring their face, to remain unidentifiable,” reads the order.

The High Court also barred Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja from deploying officers in civilian clothing or with concealed identities to manage public protests.

The court emphasised that visible identification is essential to uphold accountability and public trust in law enforcement.

The decision followed a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), challenging the legality of police conduct during the Finance Bill 2024 protests held on June 18 in Nairobi’s Central Business District, during which activist Rex Masai was fatally shot.

“The conduct of police officers, unmasked and in uniform, who carried out unlawful arrests of individuals exercising their right to picket under Article 37 of the Constitution amounted to a violation of those individuals’ rights,” Justice Mwamuye ruled.

The court found that officers deployed on that day acted unlawfully and violated constitutional protections.

Justice Mwamuye further noted that the presence of uniformed officers provides a safeguard for demonstrators and the general public, while any attempt to obscure identities encourages impunity.

Fast forward to last Thursday: Scenes captured showed fully armed police officers clad in balaclavas deployed in strategic locations such as the Kenya National Archives, Moi Avenue and University Way in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD).

In Githurai, police officers in plainclothes and face masks were captured riding motorbikes and firing into the air.

To suppress protests, they reportedly entered homes and streets, beating bystanders and firing in broad daylight.

In Rongai, approximately 12 masked armed men believed to be security operatives were spotted riding in a Prado TX, Land Cruiser V8 and Toyota Hilux, all without number plates.

Heavy police deployment and roadblocks were also witnessed at key entry points into the city, including Nairobi West and the Nyayo Stadium roundabout, hindering traffic from Lang’ata Road from accessing the CBD.

At Bunyala Road roundabout, police turned back motorists, boda boda riders and pedestrians using Mombasa Road, forcing them to seek alternative routes or abandon their journeys to work.

Traffic along Waiyaki Way was severely disrupted after roadblocks were erected near the Westlands junction and Kangemi flyover. A similar situation was witnessed on the Thika Superhighway after entry into the city was disrupted.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli defended the barricading of roads by police without prior notice to the public.

“There are no roadblocks. We have not blocked anyone from using the roads. We are only blocking those attempting to cause violence. We are stopping vehicles to check whether some are carrying weapons and criminals. That is our work,” he said while addressing journalists at Kangemi.

However, the reality was that police barricaded key entry points around the city with roadblocks on all major highways on Thursday morning, disrupting transport and leaving thousands of commuters stranded.

Many motorists were turned back on the Nairobi–Nakuru Highway, while boda boda riders were also stopped and harassed.

Leaders from the United Opposition also became the first test subjects of the acoustic weapons deployed on Thursday, temporarily forced to halt their procession from Serena to Parliament, where they were accompanying families of the 2024 protests to lay wreaths.

The erection of unannounced, military-style barricades across major Nairobi arteries goes against another High Court ruling that prohibited police from barricading roads or blocking access to Nairobi’s CBD during protests.

Justice Lawrence Mugambi issued the temporary order in 2025 following an application by the Katiba Institute, which argued that police use of razor wire and blockades to seal off the capital unlawfully infringed on citizens’ rights.

However, in his address yesterday, Murkomen also defended the setting up of blockades by police.

He said security agencies acted on intelligence indicating that criminal groups were allegedly being mobilised from different parts of the country to disrupt peace in Nairobi.

As a result, police mounted security screening and checkpoints on major roads leading into the capital.

Militia

“Security screening was therefore enacted to keep would-be troublemakers at bay. As a result, the city and its environs remained relatively safe. We regret the inconvenience occasioned by this measure and at the same time appreciate its effectiveness in securing the city and other parts of the country,” the CS said.

He said 355 arrests of violent protesters were made countrywide, with Nairobi accounting for the highest number.

George Musamali, a former GSU trainer and security expert, said the conduct of police during the protests could only be likened to that of a militia.

While noting that their actions were unlawful, Musamali criticised the excessive use of force.

“The police were behaving like a militia in handling the protests and treated Kenyans as if they were foreigners coming to protest in this country. They came out to threaten, not to provide safety. What we saw is something that should not happen in a democracy,” Musamali said.