Raila Junior likens Kenya’s current sociopolitical situation to rise of Haiti gangs
Raila Odinga Junior has sounded a grave warning over Kenya’s current political and social trajectory, likening it to the troubling situation in Haiti, where gangs gradually overtook state authority.
His remarks came in the wake of Tuesday’s Justice for Ojwang protests in Nairobi, which took a violent turn after unidentified goons infiltrated what had begun as a peaceful demonstration.
In a statement shared via his X account on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, Odinga Junior compared the evolution of gang rule in Haiti to the alarming signs emerging in Kenya. He highlighted how, in Haiti, government-linked militias slowly morphed into dominant criminal forces, eventually seizing control and eroding state structures.
He warned that Kenya risks slipping down a similar path if decisive action is not taken to protect democratic space and prevent state-linked violence from spiralling out of control.
“In Haiti the gangs started out as government militias then slowly but surely developed into the dominant force that we see today. We must stop this descent into madness. Dimples or no dimples,” Odinga Junior wrote.
Goons
His remarks came just hours after what began as peaceful protests turned violent, with reports of hooded goons terrorising demonstrators and members of the public in the Central Business District (CBD). The protests had been organised to demand justice for the late Albert Ojwang’, a teacher and blogger who died in police custody. Demonstrators also called for the resignation of Police Deputy Inspector-General Eliud Lagat.
The protests, sparked by public outrage, were meant to demand justice and accountability. However, the unrest that unfolded included reports of a street vendor being shot in the CBD.
Chaos began early in the day as anti-riot police disrupted the peaceful march scheduled to start at Aga Khan Walk. Protesters, many of them young people, were met with tear gas even before they could begin the procession. At Nation Centre, demonstrators who had gathered to pray were forcefully dispersed.
Despite the disruption, the protesters regrouped and continued their march across different streets in the CBD, chanting “Justice for Ojwang” and “Stop Police Brutality.” They accused the police of enabling extrajudicial killings and targeting unarmed civilians with excessive force.
But as tensions escalated, a new threat emerged. Witnesses say groups of unidentified men, their faces covered, began entering the city centre just before the protests kicked off. Armed with knives, clubs and other crude weapons, the men launched attacks on protestors and bystanders alike.
On Moi Avenue, a video captured shortly after noon shows some of these goons shouting in support of police officers, urging them to beat up demonstrators. In a separate incident on Koinange Street, a suspected goon was roughed up by bodaboda riders who claimed he was attempting to rob people. The man was rescued by someone who claimed he was “one of them” and was quickly whisked away in a police lorry.
The violence escalated further when the same gangs turned their attention to businesses. Shops, including an electronics outlet, were broken into as the chaos spread.
The scenes have fuelled speculation that the violent groups may have been sent to infiltrate the protests and discredit the demonstrators.
