How State operatives are plotting to stop Gen Z anniversary protests

Protesters demonstrate to demand justice for blogger Albert Ojwang while in police custody, in Nairobi, Kenya, on June 17, 2025. [AFP] The Standard today exposes the faces behind the plan to have goons infiltrate Gen Z's peaceful protests slated for tomorrow. Powerful State House operatives, influential Rift Valley MPs, a number of UDA secretariat employees, and State House senior employees and some parastatal chiefs are at the helm of a secret operation to disrupt the protests called to commemorate the first anniversary on June 25, 2024 demos. The shadowy plot, backed by high-ranking officials within the ruling party, aims to unleash violence, chaos and theft to portray the protesters as violent. An investigation by The Standard has unearthed a disturbing web involving senior government figures, digital propagandists, and former mainstream journalists now embedded in State machinery. According to multiple insider accounts, the plan entails positioning goons in key protest zones across Nairobi's Central Business District, to unleash violence on demonstrators and malign protest leaders. Journalists and media houses seen as sympathetic to the Gen Z push have also been marked for smear campaigns, intimidation and ridicule. Leaked communication seen by The Standard including multiple witness accounts paints a dark mission which include orders to snatch phones to prevent documentation of police brutality. Already, a significant number of phones stolen during last Tuesday's protests have been traced to operatives linked to the same political faction driving this plan. At the helm of this operation are two top figures who have been holding secret strategy sessions with youths and leaders loyal to the ruling party, often convening under the cover of darkness. The National Police Service, sources say, has been quietly co-opted into the plan. Their role being to provide a shield of legitimacy while enabling the infiltration of protests with weapon-wielding thugs. Last week's protests saw the infiltration by goons of protests, some in masks, on boda bodas, marching alongside uniformed police, unleashing coordinated attacks on demonstrators using rungus. The Standard has established that thousands of rungus (wooden clubs) have been transported to Nairobi ahead of tomorrow's demonstrations. A source revealed that the wooden clubs, which all look alike, are being manufactured at a private facility in Nanyuki, reportedly owned by a local politician. "They are then ferried to Nairobi using police lorries. Ask yourself how they pass through all the roadblocks, it's obvious the police are involved," the source claimed. Attempts to get a comment from police authorities on these allegations were unsuccessful, as they declined to respond. But even with evidence out in the open, the National Police Service has since distanced itself from aiding the menacing goons. The secret mission within UDA and City Hall happening behind closed doors, The Standard has established, follows a clear command hierarchy. Just below the top two operatives sits a team of six political leaders, including a governor and five MPs, each assigned specific tasks to execute the plan. On Monday, June 16, ahead of last Tuesday's protests triggered by the killing of Albert Ojwang', the core team quietly convened at Nairobi's Sarova Panafric Hotel. Among them: a governor from the North Rift, two MPs from Kisii County, two from Central Kenya, and a female MP also from the Rift Valley. In a two-hour closed-door meeting, sanctioned from "higher up", the meeting discussed ways to neutralise the Tuesday (June 17) protests, which had gained renewed urgency following the killing of Albert Ojwang', murdered in the hands of the police. Openly joining the fray is Tiaty lawmaker William Kamket who has out rightly declared violence against the protesters. He has roared: "Juzi wamelia eti Sakaja ameleta vijana wachache na rungu hapo Nairobi kuwafukuzafukuza , wacha niwaaambie kutoka hapa Sigor.....mkuje wiki ijayo ndio mjue vijana wa Pokot wako hapo, vijana mko? Wangapi wako tayari kudefend serikali, twende Nairobi? Tupambane nao, tuwaonyeshe? Waone noma, waone shida, wasirudie?" " Walilia kwa rungu hiyo kidogo ya juzi, lakini wacha wajaribu wiki hii, wale vijana wa sehemu hii watawaonyesha maana ya kukimbia ni nini!" (The other day they were crying that Sakaja had brought a few young men with clubs to chase them around in Nairobi. Let me tell them this from Sigor... come next week and you'll see that Pokot youth will be there. Youth, are you ready? How many of you are ready to defend the government? Shall we go to Nairobi? Should we confront them? Should we show them? Let them feel the heat, let them suffer, so they don't repeat it again. They cried over that little show of clubs the other day, but let them try this week, young men from this region will show them the true meaning of running!") Sources say this was not an empty threat, Kamket is said to have acted on it. "They are already in town, in their hundreds. We know they're planning to unleash terror, and yet, shockingly, no one has arrested Kamket even after such a blood-soaked declaration," a source remarked. The Standard has obtained damning WhatsApp messages and internal memos exposing the anatomy of said counter-protest operation that points to the funders and coordinators, and how the plan is being rolled out with chilling precision. "Each MP and the governor had their roles clearly assigned. The people behind this are watching closely. Every detail must fall into place," revealed a source familiar with the plot, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. Some of the WhatsApp groups under scrutiny, disguised as working groups, include Sixty Day Work Plan, Team Wadau, Team Content and Project Deliver the Plan. Members of these controversial, bloodletting WhatsApp groups include Cabinet Secretaries, party leaders, governors, Principal Secretaries, MPs, parastatal chiefs andbloggers. "Some openly discuss these sensitive issues, while others silently read through the threads, and you wonder how they condone such inflammatory messages," observed a source. The Standard has established that the groundwork for the operation is being coordinated by a government-affiliated digital strategist, with execution largely driven by a woman identified as Antonellah Kakuko, known in political circles as "Nellah." She is a key figure in UDA's communications team at the secretariat. According to documents in our possession, she earns a monthly salary of Sh103,919. Her central role is orchestrating online and offline disruption and propaganda. "Nellah, is what you'd call the 'arsonist-in-chief.' She was brought into the system to ignite political fires, and she has lived up to that role," said a source who infiltrated several of the WhatsApp groups she administers. "She controls tens of WhatsApp forums, some of which are directly responsible for coordinating the planned mayhem." Within the inner planning circle, Nellah is reportedly feared and revered. Described as the operation's "moneybag," she is said to be responsible for raising and distributing funds from influential political players to foot soldiers tasked with executing the chaos. "She can sanction anything, she's ruthless when it comes to protecting her interests. Even men tread carefully around her," the source added. The Standard has tracked Nellah's digital footprint, which reveals a pattern of incendiary messaging, often laced with threats and violent undertones. Perhaps, protected by her ties to the State, she appears to post with impunity. In one recent post on X, she warned: "Marehemu watarajiwa wa Wednesday is Wednesday na Occupy State House and other protected areas, laleni salama. Hiyo haraka ya kwenda sayuni sijui mmeitoa wapi. Lakini waswahili husema mtoto akililia wembe mpe." ("The expected corpses of Wednesday will be delivered on Wednesday. Sleep well. I don't know where you got this urge to die, but as Swahili wisdom says, if a child cries for a razor, give it to them.") According to a source at the heart of the planning, Nellah has raised millions of shillings to bankroll the mission, equipping goons, paying allowances, and setting up digital command centres. Working closely with her is Don Kamau, a self-proclaimed ICT strategist who, on social media, has emerged as a conduit between the planners and the street-level executors. In the lead-up to last Tuesday's protests, Kamau posted: "Hawa next week tutawaonyesha kuna kitu inaitwa silent majority. Hawatatuharibia nchi tukiona." ("Next week, we'll show them what the silent majority looks like. They won't destroy the country while we watch.") He added chillingly: "Viboko. Na ma simu ziende." ("Batons. And let the phones disappear.") Kamau's statements now pointing to a premeditated plan not just to violently suppress protesters, but to systematically rob them, particularly of smartphones, to hinder documentation of abuse and reduce evidence. Elizabeth Waithira, popularly known as Liz wa Sakaja, has emerged as a central figure in last Tuesday's recruitment of goons. A known UDA operative, Liz is said to have played a key role in coordinating the chaos that targeted protesters, some of whom confessed they had been recruited to work on behalf of Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja. Sakaja has vehemently denied sponsoring goons to infiltrate and stop protests. "These accusations are not only false, they are desperate attempts by certain well known individuals whose political careers are marked by violence, intimidation, chaos and have gone as far as to hire goons to come and infiltrate protests," Sakaja said at a Sunday presser. "Let us not be hoodwinked. Some have gone as far as giving them county paraphernalia to say they work for the county government. Nothing is further from the truth" "On one hand, you have Nellah and her team of UDA sympathisers and their goons; on the other, there's Liz wa Sakaja. These two operate with ruthless efficiency to please their masters," said a source. Samuel Mundia, a well-known UDA mobiliser, is described as a political bully who carries out such assignments with zeal, often working closely with notorious goons particularly in the Kayole area. Another prominent ground operative is Calvince Okoth, popularly known as Gaucho, who famously brands himself as the "Ghetto President." Once a fierce critic of the current administration, Gaucho appears to have undergone a political transformation and switched allegiances. "He now lives in Thindigua after his newfound fortunes. However, he still operates in the slums, where his influence is waning. In fact, he's had to go into hiding, he's no longer loved by everyone," said a source. In Kibera, the main point man has been identified as Swalleh Sonko who recently filmed himself pleading for forgiveness from Gen Z protesters. In Korogocho, recruitment efforts are reportedly led by area MCA Absalom Odhiambo, also known as Matakwei. In one of the many conversations, Don Kamau declared: "Mimi naeka open bill kwa vijana wangu. Kila simu unaleta nakupea 5K, na uende na hiyo simu ujue kenye utafanyia." (Translation: "I've put an open bounty for my boys. For every phone you bring, I give you Sh5,000, you take it and know what to do with it.") Under what insiders are calling Operation Okoa Simu, Nellah reportedly said: "The goal is for Gen Zs to either leave their phones at home or stay at home altogether. Remember, they've been showing up at protests for content, to broadcast to the world that they're winning." She added that phones allow protesters to record and expose security officers, putting them at risk. "Without phones, they won't be able to cover the demos." The Standard has further learnt that mainstream media is among top targets ahead of tomorrow's protests. Digital strategists have already developed smear campaigns and hashtags intended to discredit media outlets perceived to be covering the demonstrations in a certain light. Last year, at the height of the protests, several media houses were similarly targeted by government-aligned propagandists, who led coordinated online attacks to tarnish reputations. Some campaigns singled out individual journalists and outlets. One such hashtag campaign targeting Standard Group and Royal Media Services featured terms like #TheGenocideMedia and #OccupyKTN. In one message attributed to government apologist and Kenya Power board chair Joy Brenda Mdivo, she wrote: "By the way, that tag of 'Genocide Media' is really pinching them. Inawauma sana.''

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