Human rights defenders in Kisumu have strongly condemned what they describe as calculated intimidation and logistical sabotage by local leadership, a move they say was designed to derail their peaceful march marking the second anniversary of the historic June 2024 Gen Z uprising.

Led by Boniface Akatch, the group alleged that state-aligned actors deployed deliberate diversionary tactics to physically block their planned route, which was scheduled to begin with a morning march and culminate in a memorial vigil at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Odinga Cultural Center

According to Akatch, the intimidation was not carried out through overt police force, but rather through the sudden, highly strategic scheduling of competing public events at their earmarked assembly points.

“Where we were supposed to begin our march this morning at Kondele, the venue was hijacked under the pretense that they were hosting a voter registration drive,” Akatch lamented.

“The decision to assemble youths there for registration was a deliberate effort to dampen our spirits.”

The disruption continued at their final destination. The Oginga Odinga Memorial hall, which was booked to host a solemn evening vigil for victims of past protests, was abruptly repurposed for sports.

“They organized a football match at the venue, and people have turned up in numbers to watch,” Akatch added.

Threats to activists

Beyond the bureaucratic and spatial blockades, organizers revealed that individual human rights defenders have targeted for personal intimidation, causing some members to pull out of the multi-sectoral march out of fear for their safety.

Despite the shrinking numbers and structural resistance, Akatch remained defiant, insisting that the demonstration’s core objective would be fulfilled regardless of the crowd size.

“There are some of our members who have been threatened, and some have given up. It doesn’t matter the number of people who remain, we must hold the peaceful protest and present our memorandum to the authorities,” Akatch stated emphatically.

While the Kisumu chapters faced severe logistical pushback, anti-government demonstrations and memorials were more heavily concentrated in the capital city of Nairobi.

In Nairobi, opposition chiefs and civil society leaders marked the anniversary by laying commemorative wreaths at the Parliament buildings, the epicenter of the 2024 youth-led storming, before proceeding with peaceful processions into the Central Business District (CBD).