Police say not aware of planned Saba Saba protest, cite notification law

Speaking to Citizen TV's Monday Night Report, Muchiri said the service had only picked up rumours of a planned protest, adding that police action is guided strictly by the law rather than speculation.

"We are not aware of a protest. There have been rumours, talk about rumours, but we have to stick with the law," Muchiri said.

He pointed to legal requirements for public demonstrations, noting that organizers must formally notify authorities before holding a protest or picket.

"The law says for you to hold that protest, for you to hold the picket, you have to do a notification, and that notification is also specific. It has to be at least three days before the day of the protest, and not beyond 14 days," he said.

Pressed on whether police would deploy in large numbers or barricade roads, Muchiri deflected, saying decisions on Nairobi's security operations fall under the jurisdiction of the regional police commander rather than his office.

"We would now be intruding into an area that belongs to a different commander. He's been entrusted to run security specifically in the Nairobi region and Nairobi county," he said.

The interview also addressed growing public concern over the presence of masked, armed individuals during past demonstrations, with questions raised on how the public can distinguish between plainclothes police officers and armed goons operating in the same spaces.

Muchiri firmly denied any collaboration between police and criminal elements. "Police can never work or collaborate with goons. If there has been any perception like that, we need to completely trash it and stick by the law," he said.

He acknowledged that not all officers deployed during demonstrations wear uniforms, explaining that DCI officers operating within the police service do not have a standard uniform, unlike regular officers.

"We have officers that are in uniform and officers that are in civilian clothing. Nobody is talking about what uniform DCI officers wear," he said.

However, Muchiri maintained that officers seen masked during recent protests, including the June 25th demonstrations, were not affiliated with the police service.

"Those are not our officers. I have not seen one myself," he said, despite being shown footage purportedly depicting masked officers during the protests.

When pushed on whether such masked, armed individuals were police or criminal gangs, Muchiri reiterated that the police service does not deploy masked officers, insisting that officers not in uniform are still identifiable as belonging to designated plainclothes units, not criminal actors.