Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, alongside top police commanders, is personally overseeing heightened security operations in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) this morning ahead of the much-hyped Gen Z-led June 25 Memorial Protest.
With tensions high following the deaths of several protesters in previous demonstrations, authorities have launched a full-scale lockdown of key government installations and public spaces. Parliament buildings have been ring-fenced with wire mesh, and a heavy police presence is visible across major intersections.
In an unprecedented move, Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) have been barred from accessing the CBD, with police sealing off major access roads including Kenyatta Avenue, Moi Avenue, and Haile Selassie Avenue to thwart any large processions from gathering momentum.
Sources indicate the move is part of a broader state security strategy to pre-empt possible clashes or infiltration by criminal elements, even as organizers insist the march will be peaceful and in memory of those killed during previous Gen Z protests.
Despite the police show of force, organizers of the protest say they will proceed with a silent march and flower-laying ceremony outside Parliament in honor of slain demonstrators — a symbolic move to mark one year since the first fatal police crackdown on youth-led anti-tax protests.
CS Murkomen has called for calm and warned against “acts of lawlessness,” stating that while peaceful assembly is protected, any attempt to disrupt public order will be firmly dealt with.
As Nairobi wakes up to a city under partial lockdown, the stage is set for a defining moment in the Gen Z protest movement — one marked by grief, defiance, and growing calls for accountability.
