Saba Saba ban: Police say public vehicles will allowed into CBD after screening
Police said vehicles entering the CBD will be screened and any unauthorized gathering will be treated as unlawful assembly.
- On Tuesday, July 7, 2026, the National Police Service mounted enhanced security checkpoints across Nairobi, regulating movement ahead of planned Saba Saba commemorations. Police declared all processions unlawful, significantly slowing traffic into the Central Business District .
- Saba Saba Day commemorates the July 7, 1990, pro-democracy protests that challenged one-party rule. In recent years, the anniversary has evolved into a platform for citizens to demand accountability, constitutional governance, and an end to alleged extrajudicial killings.
- While activist Elisha Ochieng insisted they provided notification to Parliament, Nairobi Regional Police Commander Issa Mohamud warned that any gathering would be treated as an "unlawful assembly" and met with force.
- Deployment of plainclothes officers and unmarked vehicles prevented the planned march, with AFP journalists witnessing at least three people bundled into a police wagon after fewer than 10 protesters gathered in the city center.
- Concerns over Kenya's narrowing democratic space have grown amid the government's hard-line response to dissent, following a period of unrest where police watchdog figures indicate at least 127 people were killed during protest periods in 2024 and 2025.
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13 Articles
Kenya crushes Saba Saba march in latest crackdown on dissent
Kenyan police blocked a planned Saba Saba Day march in Nairobi on Tuesday, detaining protesters and sealing off the capital as President William Ruto's government intensified its crackdown on dissent amid lingering anger over police violence, economic hardship and shrinking civic freedoms.
Kenya police ban march on protest anniversary
Kenyan police said they would not allow a planned march in Nairobi on Tuesday to mark an annual day of protest, with heavy security deployments disrupting traffic. The post Kenya police ban march on protest anniversary appeared first on Vanguard News.
Kenya: Police Tighten Nairobi Security With Checkpoints Ahead of Defiant Saba Saba Protests
Nairobi -- Police will mount enhanced checkpoints across Nairobi on Tuesday in a major security operation ahead of planned Saba Saba demonstrations, even as activists insist they will proceed with the protests despite warnings that any gathering will be treated as unlawful.
Kenyan police banned a planned march today against police brutality, and mobilized a large security force that disrupted traffic in the capital, Nairobi.
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