Police block Gen Z's national prayer vigil in city
National
By
James Wanzala
| Jan 25, 2025
Police on Saturday blocked a planned prayer vigil that was to take place at August 7th Memorial Park in Nairobi.
The event, which was to start at noon along Moi Avenue was also to happen in Mombasa.
The prayer vigil had been organised by Kikao under the June 25th Youth Movement and aimed at standing in solidarity with parents of youths who lost their children or whose children were abducted during anti-government protests.
Since December last year, four young Kenyans Bernard Mbisi Kavingo, Justus Mutumwa, Martin Mwau, and Karani Muema are still missing.
Thursday, a Nairobi court instructed Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and DCI boss Mohamed Amin to provide answers on the missing four within seven days.
In Mombasa, the prayer vigil was disrupted by police.
Walid Sketty, an organiser of the Mombasa prayer vigil said: "We had notified the custodian of the Uhuru Gardens, which is the County Government of Mombasa, who copied the letter to the Mombasa County Commander," added Walid.
He added: "The County permitted us to use the venue but police treated it as unlawful. We had just finished singing the National Anthem when police came and arrested some of us forcing the end to stop."
In Nairobi, at around 10am, the entrances to the park was closed and cordoned off as General Service Unit(GSU) officers patrolled around the place.
"We came here in the morning and found several police officers around who had cordoned off the place. They told us that we cannot hold the event," said Lavani Mila, chairman of Kikao.
He added: "We inquired and were told that the notice was too short and after calling the Central Police Station's Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD), he said there is a cycling event today and there will be no enough police available to provide security."
Mila said another police officer from Central Police Station, forcefully evicted them from the venue and told them that they had investigated and found that the vigil prayers they were planning to hold is not what they were planning to do.
Mila was accompanied by families of the victims including the late Gen Z protester Rex Masai's mother Gillian Munyao.
The family members demanded justice, faulting the government for being silent on the deaths seven months later, a situation which they said has caused them a lot of mental anguish.
"We were told by President William Ruto to take names of the dead children which we did in August. But till today nothing has happened, we just want justice," said Eric Mutisya's mother, who said he was hit by a bullet while dancing near Parliament on June 25 last year.