By Valentine Omondi
Homa Bay descended into chaos on Sunday as the Linda Mwananchi movement’s attempt to hold political rallies in the county was met with road blockades, stone-throwing, tear gas and attacks on its supporters, leaders and journalists, exposing deepening political tensions in the region ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The confrontation unfolded against a worrying security backdrop. On Saturday, police arrested 15 people along the Kisumu–Kericho Road after detectives intercepted three vehicles carrying people suspected of being armed with crude weapons.
The suspects were travelling in a grey Toyota Noah and two white Toyota Hiace vans, with the two vans operating under a matatu Sacco serving the Kisumu–Migori route. Police said they recovered machetes, pangas, knives, ropes, a metal rod or club, and several mobile phones. One suspect, believed to be the group’s leader, escaped during the operation and was being pursued by detectives.
National Police Service spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga said preliminary investigations indicated that the suspects had allegedly been hired to disrupt political activities.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that they are hired criminals who allegedly planned to disrupt political activities in the area,” Nyaga said.
Police, however, did not confirm that the suspects were specifically travelling to Homa Bay. Their arrest nevertheless came only a day before the Linda Mwananchi tour of the county, at a time when tensions surrounding the planned rallies had already escalated.
The situation became even more concerning inside Homa Bay, where police had earlier arrested three men suspected of planning to cause chaos during the gathering. The suspects were intercepted near Nyangweso Trading Centre along the Homa Bay–Kendu Bay road, with officers recovering two machetes, a knife and a jacket bearing National Youth Service markings.
Homa Bay County Commissioner Ronald Mwiwawi had warned young people against allowing themselves to be drawn into political violence.
“We don’t want to hear of a situation where anybody uses a panga to attack a fellow Kenyan. Those who are found doing so will be arrested,” Mwiwawi said.
His warning would prove significant as Sunday’s events unfolded.
Roads turned into battlegrounds
By Sunday morning, major roads leading into Homa Bay Town had been barricaded with large stones, with some sections rendered impassable. Tyres were also set ablaze at Oyugis Junction as tension mounted ahead of the movement’s rallies.
Videos from the morning showed vehicles struggling to get through sections of the roads as stones blocked access. The blockades were reported as the Linda Mwananchi convoy made its way towards Nyandiwa, Sindo and eventually Homa Bay Town. Police have not established that the road blockades were connected to the 15 suspects arrested along the Kisumu–Kericho Road.
The convoy, led by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and accompanied by Siaya Governor James Orengo, Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya and other opposition leaders, encountered resistance at several points.
In Ndhiwa, youths confronted the convoy and threw stones at vehicles, forcing police officers accompanying the leaders to fire tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd.
Orengo, whose convoy was attacked at Ndhiwa, accused the police of abandoning their responsibility to protect political leaders and members of the public.
“At a centre like Rodi Kopany, the police should have been there, but you can see the police have totally given up and surrendered their authority to the goons,” Orengo said.
He described what was happening as unacceptable and accused unnamed individuals of organising groups to interfere with the Linda Mwananchi convoy.
“The actions and conduct we are witnessing here in Homa Bay are unacceptable. The people are with us. Everywhere we have passed since we entered Homa Bay, it has been Wantam. But these goons who have been organised to attack our vehicles are interfering with our convoy. This is not Kenya. This is not the Kenya we want. But we are determined. We will have all the meetings, all the three meetings,” he said.
At another point, Orengo accused the police of allowing anarchy to take hold.
“This is very bad because you know anarchy is what is prevailing. At a centre like Ndhiwa, the police should have been there, but you can see the police have totally given up and surrendered their authority to the goons. But we shall overcome,” he said.
Orengo has since indicated that the confrontation with the security agencies will not end on the streets. He said he intends to take the police leadership to court over what he described as security failures and the failure to protect citizens exercising their constitutional rights.
The threat of legal action now puts additional pressure on the National Police Service to explain its handling of the day’s events, particularly whether adequate security was deployed along the routes used by the convoy and whether officers acted promptly enough to prevent the attacks.
Journalists caught in the violence
The violence spread beyond political leaders and supporters, with journalists covering the events also becoming victims.
AFP correspondent Fred Ooko was assaulted and robbed of his camera and driving licence while covering the disturbances in Homa Bay Town. Another AFP journalist, Brian Ongoro, was also reportedly injured, with journalists losing equipment and personal documents during the attacks.
A hotel in Homa Bay was also reportedly raided by armed youths allegedly searching for supporters of the Linda Mwananchi movement. The incidents added to growing concerns about the ability of authorities to protect people and property as political temperatures rise.
The attacks prompted Amnesty International Kenya to call for prompt, independent and transparent investigations into the violence, including attacks on journalists, destruction of property, intimidation, road blockades and the conduct of security agencies.
The organisation also called for protection of freedom of expression, assembly, movement and media rights, urging police to act professionally and impartially.
The National Police Service, for its part, had directed officers deployed to political gatherings in Homa Bay to remain professional, impartial and restrained while facilitating the constitutional right to peaceful assembly.
“All officers deployed to political events or public gatherings are directed to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, impartiality, and restraint,” police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga said.
Nyaga also warned politicians, organisers and members of the public against conduct likely to trigger violence.
“The National Police Service warns politicians, organisers, and all other individuals against incitement, provocation, or any conduct likely to breach the peace. Offenders will face the full force of the law,” he said.
Faith Odhiambo: Stop turning youths into weapons of politics
Former Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo offered one of the strongest condemnations of the violence, warning that Kenyan politics must not continue using young people as instruments of confrontation.
Speaking during the Linda Mwananchi tour, Odhiambo questioned why young people were being encouraged to arm themselves with pangas and rungus instead of being offered opportunities and support.
“We cannot allow our blood to be the one that is poured. Today you are being told to take rungus and pangas and kill one another. That must come to an end,” she said.
Odhiambo contrasted the use of violence during political mobilisation with the material incentives used in other campaigns, questioning why some voters are given assistance while others are allegedly encouraged to fight.
“Our people, I want to tell you that other people are gifted blankets and money even boats to get their votes, and what of us: We are told to sharpen our knives and panga and take rungus and fight. Ol Kalou walipewa gas, mattress mpaka pesa. Mbona hao wanapewa panga na rungu?” she asked.
Her remarks placed the Homa Bay violence within a broader debate about political goonism and the exploitation of unemployed and vulnerable young people during political contests.
Odhiambo has previously argued that political goonism is not a new phenomenon in Kenya, saying young people have repeatedly been recruited into violence by political actors.
“If we go even to the 90s, this element of goonism has always been there. Using the youth wing, revolution wing… it’s just rebranded into different forms or different names. But it’s just using young people as a commodity to perpetrate impunity as the currency. And the political actors are the buyers,” she said in an earlier interview.
The events in Homa Bay therefore ended up becoming much bigger than a single political rally.
What began with warnings over possible disruption and the arrest of suspects carrying crude weapons escalated into road blockades, confrontations, the use of tear gas, attacks on political leaders, assaults on journalists and a bitter confrontation between Orengo and the security establishment.
Yet despite the disruption, the Linda Mwananchi convoy eventually entered Homa Bay Town and proceeded with its planned mobilisation activities in Nyandiwa, Sindo and Homa Bay Town, drawing significant crowds along the way.
The day’s events have now placed Homa Bay at the centre of a fresh national debate over political intolerance, the role of security agencies and the growing use of youths in political confrontation.
With the 2027 General Election approaching, Sunday’s violence has also raised a more troubling question: whether Kenya’s next political contest will be fought primarily through ideas and votes, or whether old tactics of intimidation, mobilisation of goons and street confrontation are beginning to return.
