After they met Inspector General Douglas Kanja two weeks ago, angry and “militant” United Opposition leaders promised Kenyans that if IG Kanja does not arrest people who were fighting Gachagua in some church, they will hold mass protests throughout the country to let President Ruto know that United Opposition is becoming the new Gen Z and will topple him with millions of Kenyans on the streets supporting Gachagua and his group.
When I saw that threat from Gachagua and Kalonzo, I knew they were praying that something else happens, so it does not become obvious that United Opposition with their tired leaders who have been in government for 40 years and counting, have no capacity whatsoever to launch national protests in Kenya.
They are going to take a mob and their own goons to IG Kanja office and disrupt life for Nairobi folks for a bit but that is it, and they will have to look for another drama. Good for them.
When Gen Z protests and rallies were happening all over the country in 2024/25 the Kalonzo and Gachugua clueless opposition leaders claimed they were the ones who organized those protests because they saw how threatening the protests were to the William Ruto government, but these United Opposition leaders were too scared themselves to attend any protest marches and were hiding in their hotel rooms and homes in Nairobi.
Gen Z Kenyans are going to let these opposition politicians know that they are not robots to be pulled into the streets by politicians, so when they are killed and injured in those protests to make that becomes a gift to opposition politicians, who themselves have never come out for protests in the fights for democracy in Kenya.
Those young Kenyans will come out at their time of choosing to fight for their country like they always do.
United Opposition leaders need to learn one thing from Raila Amolo Odinga who everybody is talking about now. When Raila told Kenyans it was time to take the battle to the streets to defend the country and achieve what Kenyans want, he was at the front of those protest marches at great risk to his life and freedom. He was ready to do it for his country, which he loved that much to be ready to die for.
Raila Odinga would never call on Kenyan youth to go in protests when he was not ready to be there himself.
At the University of Nairobi in the 1980’s we used to cause a lot of trouble in our own protests against Moi and then when we ended up at Nyayo House for torture it was people like Raila who helped us link up with Amnesty International and that is how we got released the first time after 9 months at Nairobi Industrial Area Remand Prison (INDA).
The second time I was not that lucky and got 15 months jail time at Kamiti. But the Railas, the Koigis, Wangari Maathai, George Anyona and many others are the ones who helped the students to survive and later on to go into exile from Tanzania. Koigi Wamwere actually used to travel all the way from Norway where he was as an exile himself to Tanzania to make sure we had food and good places to live. Those days there was no MPESA.
We survived with the help of our comrades to get out of Kamiti Prison, but the nation is still there and that is the matter at hand today for our country. When my mother came to see me at Kamiti Prison I was telling her I was okay and she does not need to come there. I had problems with my leg and I could not stand up properly because the prison guards knocked my legs out.
So, my mother asks me to stand up when I am talking to her at the prison window in Kamiti prison and I cannot stand up. She freaked out and I told her there are other Kenyans helping and we were going to be fine.
So, are the new big chaps on the block now ready to lead a national rebellion against the Ruto government as they promised starting with mass protests? Of course that is not going to happen.
In the news now, Opposition leaders on Monday, February 16, 2026, staged a dramatic visit to Vigilance House in Nairobi, accusing the National Police Service of failing to act on a series of attacks targeting former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and his allies.
Led by Wiper Patriotic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka, Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) leader Eugene Wamalwa, and Gachagua, the United Opposition delegation demanded accountability over what they described as “systematic harassment” and violations of human rights.
Speaking outside the police headquarters, Wamalwa claimed there have been at least 22 incidents in which police officers and suspected hired goons attacked Gachagua and opposition supporters during public engagements across the country.
“There are incidences where there were violations of human rights, particularly targeting Rigathi Gachagua, the second deputy president, and we have over 22 different incidences where the police and goons attacked him and all of us who were with him in various locations across the country,” Wamalwa said.
He revealed that during a previous engagement, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja had undertaken to present a report by February 16, 2026, detailing action taken and remedial measures to address the concerns raised by opposition leaders.
However, when the delegation returned to Vigilance House on Monday, they found neither the Inspector General nor his deputies present.
“The IG of police undertook that by today, the 16th of February, when we return here, he will have a report on action taken and remedial measures put in place to address these serious concerns that the entire leadership of the opposition had raised. We are here today, and the IG is not here; not even DIG Lagat is here, and not even DIG Masengeli is here. They have all taken off,” Wamalwa stated.
Wamalwa further claimed that the police chiefs may have been instructed “from above” not to engage them, framing the matter as one of accountability rather than politics.
“We believe this is because of orders from above where they have been told not to engage us, but this is an issue of accountability, so we are not going to relent. We have said we will be back here again on Friday, and when we come, we expect none other than IG Kanja himself to be here to address the concerns we have raised,” he said.
Two-week ultimatum
The United Opposition had given IG Kanja an ultimatum of two weeks to arrest security officers believed to be behind the Othaya church attack incident.
The opposition indicated that should their demand not be met by the IG by February 16, 2026, they would be forced to call for mass action.
Speaking in a media briefing after a session with the IG in Nairobi on Friday, January 30, 2026, the opposition said that the incident that happened on Sunday, January 25, 2026, at a church in Othaya was not a usual incident.
They termed it an assassination attempt against Gachagua, and therefore, it should be investigated with urgency.
The real issue for all Kenyans and not just the United Opposition whatever plans they have is that the politics of guns and tear gas on Kenyans must end because it is everywhere now in the country.
From what Kenyans are seeing now it looks every police officer in the streets has cans of teargas and they are firing them at people in any kind of meeting the police are told to disburse. It is just too much.
Here is the deal for ODM. You are part of the William Ruto government and that is good for you and maybe for the country too but now is time to tell William Ruto that ODM will not support or tolerate any forms of police violence against Kenyans having meetings or doing their own business. That could be a good starting point as ODM looks towards structured negotiations with President Ruto and UDA towards 2027.
ODM has taken a very positive stand on the compensation for victims of state violence that should be done very quickly but also tell Ruto not to add new victims of state violence by the actions of the Kenya police going on today as Kenyans see and have to deal with.
Adongo Ogony is a Human Rights Activist and a Writer who lives in Toronto, Canada
