The sun had barely risen when commuters found every major route into the city centre blocked, forcing many to abandon matatus and walk back home.
At Pangani on Thika Road, officers waved motorists away while armoured trucks lurked behind concrete barriers. Similar scenes played out at the Nyayo Stadium and Kenyatta Hospital roundabouts, as well as on Ngong Road near City Mortuary.
Scenes were no different at Roysambu, where police completely barricaded the highway and continue to do so, as well as the Eastern Bypass-Thika Road flyover.
Hundreds of frustrated workers turned back as early as 5 a.m., some clutching lunchboxes, others shepherding school-aged children who never made it to class.
Sunday night, police in Mombasa intercepted several buses of Nairobi youth at the Dongo Kundu Bypass, ostensibly to deny them a chance of travelling to bolster protest numbers, an allegation the police deny.
Hours later, Kenya Railways cancelled its overnight Mombasa-Nairobi train, citing a “technical fault,” and left hundreds stranded on the coast.
Online, presidential economic adviser Moses Kuria threatened that anyone who destroys property today would “make his kachumbari and stew,” a chilling warning that quickly went viral.
The heavy deployment sets the stage for today’s Saba Saba demonstrations, an annual commemoration of the July 7, 1990 rallies that forced Kenya to embrace multiparty politics. Former prime minister Raila Odinga, one of the original “Young Turks,” has called supporters to a rally at Kamukunji Grounds, insisting the struggle for civil liberties is unfinished.
Monday is promising to be an action-filled day full of state display of force on one side and brave youngsters on the other side.
