Saba Saba Day: Police to erect checkpoints on various Nairobi roads
By Lutta Njomo, July 6, 2026Enhanced checkpoints will be erected on various Nairobi roads on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, as the country marks Saba Saba Day.
In a statement on Monday, July 6, 2026, the National Police Service (NPS) confirmed a planned security operation in the city.
“As a security measure, there will be enhanced police checkpoints on various roads within Nairobi city tomorrow, July 7, 2026, to control both human and vehicular movement,” NPS statement read in part.
“Members of the public are urged to obey and cooperate with the National Police Service to ensure that peace and order prevail,” the statement added.
Reason for checkpoints
According to police, the erection of checkpoints has been necessitated by previous incidents in which protests resulted in breaches of the peace and interference with normal business operations in the city.
“The National Police Service wishes to inform all members of the public that, in light of past experience during the Sabasaba commemoration, which is usually observed on 7 July, some members of the public have caused breaches of the peace, thereby interfering with the normal conduct of business for those not participating in the demonstrations,” NPS defended the operation.
Warning to protesters
Further, the National Police Service vowed to deal with those who will break the law during the Saba Saba Day commemoration.
“Any unlawful acts shall be met with the full force of the law,” NPS made it clear.
Earlier, Nairobi Regional Police Commander Issa Mohamud announced that security officers had not been notified of any planned demos within the city.
The Nairobi police boss warned that anyone who gathers for protests will be treated as participating in an unlawful assembly.
“If you gather tomorrow anywhere, we will treat it as unlawful assembly, and we will deal with you,” Mohamud said.
The warning comes despite human rights organisations and civil society groups maintaining that they have complied with the law by formally notifying the National Police Service of their planned peaceful Saba Saba Day demonstrations.
The organisers said the procession is intended to commemorate Saba Saba Day while presenting a petition to Parliament demanding greater police accountability, an end to extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
However, police came out to contradict their statement.
Saba Saba, which translates to “Seven Seven” in Swahili, commemorates July 7, 1990, when opposition leaders and pro-democracy activists organised one of Kenya’s most significant demonstrations against the then one-party rule under former President Daniel arap Moi.