Shadrack Nyakoe
By Njeri Irungu
Nairobi, Kenya – June 18, 2025
Bunge La Mwananchi, a prominent grassroots movement advocating for social justice and civic accountability, has released a press statement addressing the increasingly strained relationship between police officers and civilians in Kenya, especially in the wake of recent public protests.
The statement reaffirms every Kenyan’s constitutional right to peaceful protest, while strongly condemning incidents of police brutality that have marred recent demonstrations. At the same time, the movement acknowledges that some civilians have engaged in provocative behavior toward officers—acts that only serve to escalate tensions and undermine the pursuit of justice.
Bunge La Mwananchi’s message takes a balanced tone, highlighting a rarely acknowledged reality: that police officers, too, are human beings grappling with emotional, psychological, and societal pressures. The group appeals to the public to refrain from using dehumanizing language or engaging in ethnic profiling of officers, noting that such rhetoric only deepens divisions.
Addressing the recent outcry following the death of Albert Ojwang in police custody, the organization calls for patience as investigations proceed, warning against the temptation to weaponize grief or resort to violent, destructive protests before all facts are established. “Let justice be guided by truth and due process, not by vengeance,” the statement urges.
In its conclusion, Bunge La Mwananchi calls on both the police and the public to uphold professionalism, dignity, and mutual respect. “Let us see one another not as adversaries, but as fellow Kenyans bound by a shared destiny,” the statement reads. “Only then can we begin to repair the fraying fabric of trust that holds our society together.”
The appeal comes at a critical moment in Kenya’s democratic journey, as civil society, law enforcement, and ordinary citizens grapple with the responsibilities and limits of protest, security, and national unity.
