Saba Saba Protests Disrupt Schools as Kenyan Opposition Leaders Condemn Police Crackdown
Saba Saba Day 2026 saw Nairobi grappling with school disruptions due to protest fears and widespread condemnation of police actions. Political leaders, including Kalonzo Musyoka and James Orengo, criticized excessive police force, roadblocks, and violations of constitutional freedoms, underscoring the day's enduring significance as a symbol of democratic struggle.
The 2026 Saba Saba Day protests caused widespread disruption across Nairobi, forcing many parents to keep their children at home or withdraw them from school over security concerns.
Learning was severely affected in several schools, including Kilimani Integrated Comprehensive School, where only about half of its 2,100 pupils attended classes before many were picked up early as tensions escalated.
The protests also brought major transport disruptions, with police mounting roadblocks across key entry points into the city, leaving large parts of Nairobi unusually quiet.
Opposition leaders strongly criticized the government's handling of the demonstrations, accusing the National Police Service of using excessive force and violating constitutional rights. Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka condemned the deployment of heavily armed officers, widespread roadblocks, and the alleged use of masked plainclothes security operatives to detain young protesters in unmarked vehicles.
He also accused security agencies of failing to protect citizens from criminal gangs during the unrest and demanded the immediate release of all those arrested while calling for sweeping police reforms. Siaya Governor James Orengo also described the government's actions as "shameful," urging that Saba Saba be declared a public holiday in honour of pro-democracy icons Kenneth Matiba, Charles Rubia, and Raila Odinga, whose activism helped end one-party rule in Kenya.
The National Police Service defended the security measures, saying the roadblocks were necessary to prevent a repeat of previous violence and insisting no group had formally notified authorities of planned demonstrations, a claim disputed by rights organisations. Civil society groups continued to demand accountability over alleged extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and excessive use of force by security agencies.
The annual Saba Saba commemoration, which marks the July 7, 1990 pro-democracy protests, remains one of Kenya's most significant symbols of civic resistance and democratic activism.