Police blocked major roads leading to Nairobi and heavily restricted vehicle traffic on Monday, witnesses and Kenyan media said, as the country braced for protests to mark the anniversary of 1990 pro-democracy rallies.
Every year on 7 July, activists rally to mark the date in 1990 when opponents of then-president Daniel Arap Moi launched a bid to transform the country into a multiparty democracy. The protest is called "Saba Saba" – "seven seven" in Kiswahili – because of the date.
This year's rally comes after largely youth-led protests in June last year that initially focused on tax hikes but expanded to cover issues such as corruption, police brutality and unexplained disappearances of government critics.
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Most schools and at least one shopping mall remained closed on Monday, witnesses told Reuters news agency.
Leading activist Hanifa Aden wrote on X: "the police getting rained on as they block every road while we stay at home warming our beds."
"Total shutdown and forced holiday executed by the state," she said.
Security forces on high alert
The government has defended its action, saying it was committed to protecting life and property during protests.
"Our security agencies are on high alert to deal decisively with criminals and other elements of ill intent who may seek to infiltrate peaceful processions to cause havoc, mayhem, or destruction of property," Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said on his X account on Sunday.
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The comments came after unidentified people forced their way into the offices of the non-profit Kenya Human Rights Commission on Sunday to stop a press conference ahead of Monday's protests.
At least one person, a board member, was injured, Ernest Cornel, who works at the commission, said.
The death of Albert Ojwang, a teacher and blogger, in police custody in June gave fresh impetus to protests, with the government-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reporting 19 deaths across the country during demonstrations last month.
Prosecutors approved murder charges against six people, including three police officers, over Ojwang's death. All six pleaded not guilty.
(with newswires)
