Homa Bay chaos: Governor Kang'ata accuses gov't of outsourcing violence to civilians

In a social media post on Monday, the governor said that for over 30 years, Kenyans have fought, bled and voted for one principle: that power belongs to the people, and that no Kenyan should be beaten for speaking.

“When the State outsources violence to civilians and gives them immunity, it has abandoned the Constitution and declared war on its own people. This is the same playbook we rejected in the 1990’s. The same playbook that gave us sabasaba, that gave us detention without trial, that gave us 2007,” said Kang'ata.

According to Kang’ata, what was witnessed in Homa Bay was not policing but rather what he described as “sponsored brutality”.

He alleged that the culprits were goons allowed to operate with impunity while those sworn to protect citizens stood by.

The Governor protested that Kenya did not struggle for multi-party democracy so that in 2026 its citizens be attacked for demanding accountability, citing articles 37, 29 and 244 of the constitution.

Kang’ata demanded the arrest and prosecution of both the goons and public officials who enabled them to operate, and the disbandment of shadow units and political militias being used against citizens.

Further, he demanded the immediate release of all Linda Mwananchi members who had been arrested for peaceful assembly.

The governor called on the government to respect the rule of law, saying the standards they set will be used against them when they are out of office. He maintained that power is temporary while the constitution is permanent.