NAIROBI, (Xinhua) – Several people, including an opposition politician, were arrested on Monday as protests erupted across Kenya over the rising abduction of social media activists. Businesses were also disrupted in various towns as angry youths took to the streets, demanding action from the Kenyan government.
Carrying placards and chanting anti-government slogans, the protesters marched through towns, including Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. Police fired teargas and engaged in running battles with the youths in an attempt to disperse them.
“No more abductions, no more abductions,” the youths chanted. On Kenyatta Avenue in Nairobi, protesters read aloud the names of social media activists who had been recently abducted or had disappeared without a trace. Some carried roses, offering them to police officers as a gesture of peace.
Okiya Omtatah, an opposition senator and protester, decried the abductions before being arrested alongside other demonstrators. “If they have committed a crime, let them be prosecuted and presented in court to defend themselves,” he said.
Police erected roadblocks on major routes into Nairobi, barring public transport minibuses, locally known as matatus, from entering the city center. Passengers were frisked as officers searched for potential protesters. In Kitengela, a Nairobi suburb and previous protest hotspot, police carried out road checks and air surveillance to thwart gatherings.
Protests also erupted in Embu and Nyeri, where demonstrators clashed with police while demanding the release of a young social media activist.
This new wave of unrest came six months after youth-led protests in June over proposed tax increases, which were eventually shelved after public outcry. Although those demonstrations subsided following the dismissal of President William Ruto’s cabinet, online activism persisted. Youths have used social media platforms to critique the government, often employing creative tools such as cartoons, short videos, and artificial intelligence-generated images.
However, a worrying pattern of abductions targeting vocal activists has emerged. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, a state-funded body, reported that 82 people remain unaccounted for since the June protests, with at least 50 killed and over 300 injured during demonstrations in recent months.
Addressing the nation on Dec. 27, Ruto pledged to investigate the abductions and take action against those responsible. “What has been said about abductions, we will stop them, so Kenyan youth can live in peace, but they should have discipline and be polite so that we can build Kenya together,” he said.
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