Maraga reflects on teargas experience during protests
Retired Chief Justice David Maraga has called for urgent reforms in Kenya’s justice and policing systems following his participation in June 25, 2025, demonstrations in Nairobi, where he was caught up in a cloud of tear gas fired at peaceful protesters.
Speaking on a local television station on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Maraga recounted his experience during the commemorative protest held in honour of last year’s anti-tax victims.
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He said he attended the march to show solidarity with the families who lost their loved ones during the 2024 unrest. He described the decision as a deeply personal one, rooted in months of consultations with Kenyans who had urged him to step up and advocate for change.
“Nimekula tear gas kidogo for nothing other than coming in solidarity with the mothers and siblings who lost their loved ones last June. I am consulting a lot and what Kenyans are saying, CJ, when you get there, please bring a fundamental change to what is happening, we cannot afford to continue like this,” Maraga stated.
Teargassed
Maraga joined demonstrators mainly led by Gen Z activists along Nairobi’s Kimathi Street, where hundreds had gathered to mark the anniversary of the 2024 protests that shook the nation and left dozens dead.
The peaceful procession was disrupted just moments after it began when police launched tear gas into the crowd without warning. Maraga, walking among the protestors, was directly exposed to the gas.
Eyewitnesses say members of the public and his security detail quickly surrounded the former Chief Justice, shielding him and rushing him to safety near Nation Centre. Though he was visibly shaken, Maraga stood firm in his condemnation of the police’s response.
He dismissed claims by law enforcement that the protesters had lit fires or acted violently, insisting the crowd had been peaceful and orderly.
Drawing from his previous role as chair of the National Taskforce on Police and Prison Reforms, Maraga expressed deep concern over what he described as systemic flaws in Kenya’s policing culture. He said the incident highlighted the urgent need to retrain officers on human rights, crowd control, and constitutional freedoms.
According to him, law enforcement continues to treat citizens exercising their rights as enemies, rather than people entitled to protection and respect.
Maraga was especially troubled that the tear gas had been used on a crowd that included grieving mothers, children, and youth advocating for a better future. He called the use of force unnecessary and excessive, saying it reinforced a dangerous trend of criminalising dissent and suppressing public outcry through fear.
He stressed the importance of Kenyans seeking change through constitutional and electoral means, and warned against accepting police brutality as a normal part of civic life. He also noted that the overwhelming message he had received from citizens across the country was clear: Kenyans are desperate for genuine reform, especially in how justice is administered and rights are protected.
