IS KENYA SLIPPING INTO POLITICAL VIOLENCE? GOONS, VANDALIZED VEHICLES AND RISING POLITICAL TENSIONS Homabay/Nakuru.

A string of attacks on opposition convoys in Homa Bay, Nakuru and Kisii has intensified concerns over political violence in Kenya, with goons using stones, crude weapons and roadblocks to disrupt rallies linked to the Linda Mwananchi movement and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP). Vehicles were vandalised, journalists assaulted, one person killed and several injured, triggering condemnations from political leaders across the spectrum and sharp exchanges between the opposition and government over responsibility.

The most recent violence erupted on Sunday, August 16, 2026, in Homa Bay County as the Linda Mwananchi convoy, carrying leaders including Siaya Governor James Orengo and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, sought to hold rallies in Nyandiwa, Sindo and Homa Bay Town. Youths armed with machetes blocked major roads with stones, boulders, logs and burning tyres. In Ndhiwa, police fired teargas to disperse groups that pelted the motorcade with stones, damaging vehicles and causing collisions.

Journalists covering the events were targeted. AFP reporters Fred Ooko and Brian Ongoro were injured and had their equipment stolen after being attacked by groups wielding crude weapons. Armed youths also stormed a beach hotel in Homa Bay Town the previous evening, searching for Linda Mwananchi supporters and forcing guests to flee. Orengo condemned the attacks, saying: “These goons who have been organised in order to hit at our cars, interfere with our convoy  this is not Kenya. This is not the Kenya we want.” He accused police of surrendering authority in some areas. Despite the chaos, the convoy used alternative routes and later drew large crowds.



Several leaders issued strong condemnations of the Homa Bay violence. Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga said her “heart is bleeding” over the events and condemned “without reservation” the mobilisation of young people to carry out violent attacks aimed at stopping the rallies. She specifically denounced the assault on journalists Ooko and Ongoro, stating: “An attack on the press is an attack on every Kenyan’s right to know.” Odinga warned that leaders themselves stood accused of funding youth to disrupt lawful gatherings and that the country was “rattling pretty fast towards a dark abyss.” She called for the madness to stop, urging that political disagreements be settled through argument rather than pangas, stones and hired goons.

Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo (also known as Millie Mabona) similarly condemned the violence and called for calm. She urged rivals to “attack your opponents with ideas” rather than using pangas and other crude weapons, saying she hated the “brother against brother” politics unfolding in Homa Bay. Odhiambo placed responsibility for security squarely on Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, stating that when people in the county harm each other, “the buck stops with you.” She condemned incitement to violence and the ethnicisation of politics while urging respect for the rule of law.

Hon. Mark Nyamita also joined in condemning the attacks on the Linda Mwananchi convoy in Homa Bay, the earlier incident in Kisii and the assault on Gachagua’s motorcade in Nakuru, describing the use of goons as a threat to democratic space and calling for decisive action against those organising or financing the violence.

Days earlier, on August 14, Gachagua’s DCP convoy was attacked in Kaptembwa, Nakuru Town West Constituency. Youths hurled stones and used axes and other crude weapons, shattering windscreens and windows on several vehicles. Gachagua accused Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika, Nakuru Town West MP Samuel Arama and elements linked to the national government of organising the assault, claiming police watched without intervening. Arama denied the claims, saying the constituency has voters, not goons. Gachagua later criticised President William Ruto and Murkomen for failing to curb goonism despite public pledges.

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These incidents followed the July 3, 2026, attack on a Linda Mwananchi convoy in Keumbu, Kisii County, along the Kisii–Keroka Road. Youths blocked the road and pelted vehicles with stones and clubs. Former Chief Justice David Maraga’s vehicle was among those damaged. Several supporters were injured, and 36-year-old Vincent Osiemo (Mapinduzi) later died from injuries after falling from a vehicle during the chaos. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations, working with Keumbu Police, arrested three suspects, with further arrests expected after analysis of viral footage.

Opposition figures have portrayed the attacks as a systematic effort to intimidate critics ahead of the 2027 general election. Government officials have rejected the accusations. Murkomen has stated that security agencies will deal firmly with anyone financing or organising goons, irrespective of political side. President Ruto has publicly pledged to end goonism.

Civil society groups and media editorials have warned that the pattern of roadblocks, hotel raids, assaults on journalists and convoy ambushes risks normalising political thuggery. As investigations continue in the three counties, police have appealed for public information and reiterated that political intolerance will be pursued through the criminal justice system. With mobilisation intensifying on all sides, the recent violence in Homa Bay, Nakuru and Kisii has sharpened the national debate over whether Kenya is witnessing isolated clashes or a deeper slide into organised political intimidation.