Wave of destruction in counties as public anger boils over murders

The torching of Mawego Police Station in Homa Bay County over the murder of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang marked yet again, the escalating anger against the government.

Mourners carrying the casket containing the body of Ojwang, stormed the station setting a section of it ablaze in an emerging pattern of torching government installations in a worrying trend attributed to pent-up anger against the ruling class.

A police station is a symbol of authority for law enforcement and maintaining public order among communities. An attack on a police station, is a direct challenge of authority.

The Mawego raid is the latest in a series of similar incidents witnessed across the country in the past few days. Last week, several police stations were targeted in Nairobi, Kiambu, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Makueni, Kajiado and Nakuru counties following June 25, 2024 Gen-Z anniversary protests.

The palpable anger, notes political commentator Prof Gitile Naituli, is a reaction to government’s unfulfilled and broken promises.

Although he called for restraint, Prof Naituli expressed fear that the deteriorating relationship between police and public risks tearing the country apart.

“Police are the glue that binds a society together, once the relationship between public and police is broken, we are at risk of losing the country. The government needs to listen to the Gen Zs, responding with force is a misguided approach,” he said.

Firearms stolen

In the capital city, Dagoretti Police Post was torched by protestors who are said to have stolen five firearms among them two AK-47 rifles, a G3 rifle, an anti-riot gun and a Jericho pistol. Dagoretti Deputy County Commissioner’s office was also burnt.

Villa Police Station in Embakasi was invaded by about 3,000 demonstrators who were armed with stones and crude weapons. During the ensuing melee, a 19-year-old boy was shot dead.The fatal shooting angered the protestors who brought down the perimeter wall, burnt two civilian vehicles during the violence that left 10 officers injured.

Similar daring incidents were witnessed in various parts of the country as anti-riot police struggled to contain the protestors who destroyed several vehicles in violent confrontations that left 19 protestors dead and close to 400 injured, according to human rights groups. On their part, police said more than 100 officers were left nursing injuries and over 30 police vehicles damaged by protestors.

Two courts in Kiambu County, and several national and county government offices came under attack as police struggled to contain the demonstrators.

 The law court was reduced to ashes with all structures ruined by the inferno including registry, customer care desk, succession and records offices, procurement offices, accounts offices, mediation offices, children’s cells and all the exhibits. The perimeter wall was also brought down as well as toilets and security desk.

Temple of justice 

Chief Justice Martha Koome toured the courts on June 26, 2025 to assess the damage caused. She described the attack as an act of terrorism and warned against violations of freedoms to picket and demonstrate.

“A court is a temple of justice where aggrieved people come to seek justice. We are sad as Judiciary and as a nation that even as the Constitution under Article 37 allows us to picket and demonstrate, criminals have seized the opportunity to destroy property,” she said.

In Ol’Kalou Sub County, Nyandarua County, the offices of Assistant County Commissioner, education department and county government enforcement were set on fire that consumed 33 vehicles, 10 motorcycles and a tractor.

The irate demonstrators marched with a dead body to Ol’Kalou Police Station where they burnt the exhibit store, destroying a section of the perimeter wall.

It is alleged the deceased man was a protestor who jumped into a police Land Cruiser vehicle but slipped falling on the road sustaining serious injuries.Other demonstrators rushed him to hospital but he was pronounced dead on arrival. The demonstrators put the body on a stretcher and headed to the station where they caused damage in protest over the man’s death.

In Mathira East, Nyeri County, demonstrators stormed the Deputy County Commissioner’s premises, shattering windows of the Sub-County Education Office and looting the Administration Police canteen before attempting to set the Karatina Law Courts ablaze. Fourteen anti-riot officers were injured and three police vehicles damaged during the chaos.

In Soy Sub-County, Uasin Gishu, a police canter was reduced to a shell after protesters ambushed officers refuelling at a petrol station, injuring three.

In Yatta, Machakos County, five police vehicles were damaged and 15 officers hurt when more than 1,000 demonstrators, who had barricaded the Thika-Garissa Road, overwhelmed officers who retreated into Matuu Police Station. Protesters smashed the station’s windows and vandalised police and civilian cars.

A Land Cruiser from Timau Police Station in Buuri, Meru County, was damaged during skirmishes that left 13 officers injured as they dispersed crowds blocking the Nanyuki-Meru Road. Ten officers were injured in Tharaka Nithi as anti-riot squads clashed with protesters who paralysed Chuka town and vandalised road signs and guardrails.

In Maua township, Meru County, two police vehicles were damaged and nine officers injured when protesters barricaded the Meru-Maua highway. In Emali, Makueni County, demonstrators hurled stones at Emali Police Station, injuring eight officers, after two protesters died in hospital.

In Othaya, Nyeri County, protesters attempted to storm the local police station, injuring three officers.

Blocked by police, they turned to the Nyeri South Deputy County Commissioner’s office, torching three government vehicles.