Outcry as Kenyans accuse police of harassing, extorting anyone with dreadlocks

X user Miss Macharia first blew the whistle on Kenyans being forced to shave their dreadlocks after enduring extortion and trumped up charges by the police, with their crime being a mere hairstyle.

Taking to her X account, Miss Macharia noted that anyone walking around at night, in dreadlocks, was at a heightened risk of facing persecution from the Kenyan police.

"There's so many reports of people cutting their dreadlocks because Kenya Police has been using that as an excuse to extort them. Especially people who commute at night. The speed with which we are regressing as a country is very saddening," she wrote.

By using dreadlocks as an excuse to arrest and extort Kenyans, many sporting the hairstyle, Macharia noted, were now being forced to cut the hair or risk an unpleasant encounter with the cops.

SK Kaiga, a deadlocked X user, narrated his own harrowing experience with the police after a quick night out to grab french fries for dinner.

Kaiga explained that, while around Ongata Rongai, on Wednesday night, plain clothes policemen approached him demanding to know the contents of his snack bag.

He went on to narrate that after demanding to know their status, doubting their claim to be police officers, the men harrased him, manhandled him and hauled him into a police truck while beating him up and issuing threats.

"(They) threw me in that f**k ass truck and beat me up took me to the station and locked me up alongside 100+ other youngins. apparently there was an operation cause of some homicide cases or something around the area and they just decided to arrest every young guy they could find... " he narrated.

"They charged everyone with touting which was a false booking btw, but guess what they charged me with cause I had the audacity to be rude to them? F**king MURDER! like WTF! These moth***f***rs just wanted to ruin my life because I bruised their egos..."

Kaiga went on to state that after spending an entire night in the cells, he would later be bailed out late following day, after hours of trauma, harassment and anxiety.

"So, fast forward I was bailed out the following day in the evening which wasnt an easy ordeal lol the OCS got bribed and had my name scrapped off from that murder list, moved to the touting offence of which they put fake number plates against everyone's elses names as evidence... " he revealed.

While agreeing that the police were actively hunting down anyone in dreadlocks, Kaiga narrated that his hairstyle was the primary reason for his unwarranted arrest, bemoaning the physical and psychological trauma inflicted on him.

"Money was wasted, my time was wasted, I was physically and psychologically abused and all for what? Nothing!" he lamented.

Reacting to the revelations, LSK President Charles Kanjama called out the police for the discriminative practises, terming the trend 'sad'.

He wrote: "Sad. The everyday violations of the rule of law. Sadder still because it's ordinary typical hassle, that it's just everyday commentary of rights violation and a security system that's not working."

X user @Wordslinger also reacted, writing, "This story has chilled me to the core. Someone can look at you walking on the road, arrest you arbitrarily for nothing, slap a murder charge on you, just like that. Can you imagine the implications of this, long-term??? Can you see how horrific this is?"

Another user said, "This thread exposes how  Police are criminalizing innocent civilians. What do you mean you can press murder charges to a random person at night since he ir she has refused to bribe you? @NPSOfficial_KE you ought to do better!"

On his part, Joseph Njogu wrote, "The Police are an occupation force designed with the colonial mindset where it is supposed to subjugate the subjects. It was meant to maintain law and order but not for you; rather it does if to protect the neocolonial overlords."

While having dreadlocks is not illegal in Kenya, young men and individuals with locs frequently face identity-based profiling and harassment from police officers. 

Authorities often unfairly associate the hairstyle with criminal gangs, narcotics, or illicit activities, resulting in targeted arrests, extortion, and sometimes forced shaving.

Human rights organizations and victims' advocates categorize this as identity profiling, with data showing that young informal sector workers are disproportionately targeted for police abuse. 

The law and constitution, however, protect personal expression, and targeted police action solely based on your hair violates these rights.

Back in March 2025, Eldoret Principal Magistrate Caroline Watimah warned police against shaving suspects without consent, calling it inhumane.

The magistrate stated that forced shaving inflicts psychological distress and violates basic human dignity. 

She also urged the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to train officers on the dangers of forcibly shaving suspects in custody.