Linda Mwananchi: How we intend to deal with goons

ODM faction Linda Mwananchi has announced a multi-pronged strategy to confront the growing wave of intolerance and political violence.

The group said that it will intensify court action, pressure on security agencies, civil disobedience and greater mobilisation of civil society and the media.

The opposition leaders said the approach will be adopted following the violence that disrupted its tour of Homa Bay County on Sunday, in which lives were lost, dozens were injured and property destroyed.

Rather than retreat from political mobilisation, the Linda Mwananchi leaders said the Homa Bay incident has hardened their resolve to challenge State-sponsored violence and intimidation.

The group said that, for now, its response will be to seek legal redress. However, it warned that this could escalate to civil action if the government fails to hold those responsible for the violence accountable.

Siaya Governor James Orengo, a leading figure in the movement, said that he was prepared to confront what he described as ‘State terror’. He accused President William Ruto’s administration of orchestrating violence against political opponents.

“We are ready. I’m prepared to take any challenge against violence from the State. This is a violent era. This is State terror that is being pushed on us by the Ruto administration, and he must bear responsibility and accountability,” Mr Orengo said.

Mr Jaoko, popularly known as Olivetti, is one of the people that the police were pursuing in connection with the weekend violence in Homa Bay.

Mr Orengo also accused the government of preparing the country for an attempt to postpone the 2027 General Election. However, the governor did not provide evidence to support this claim.

“President Ruto is trying to prepare us for the postponement of the elections. That is not going to be possible,” he said.

In its statement yesterday, Linda Mwananchi said it would pursue accountability through the Constitution, courts and other lawful institutions.

“To every goon and officer whose face was captured on camera participating in the violence: you were seen, you are known,” the group said.

“We will pursue accountability through the Constitution, the courts and every lawful institution available to us.”

The movement has also demanded investigations by the National Police Service, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority and the National Intelligence Service into the conduct of their officers during the Homa Bay disturbances.

Linda Mwananchi claims that security officers either stood by as attackers targeted its supporters or actively facilitated the disruption of its political activities.

The claims have not been independently established, and the security agencies have yet to publicly accept the allegations.

The group alleges that its convoy encountered roadblocks from the Kisumu-Homa Bay border and continued to face barricades and police roadblocks inside Homa Bay County.

It further claims that armed individuals, who were positioned along the route, fired at the Linda Mwananchi convoy.

Linda Mwananchi also alleged that some of the people who were involved in the violence were transported from Kisumu, Siaya, Migori, Kisii and Nairobi, specifically to disrupt its activities.

One of the most serious claims made by the group was that an individual caught by supporters of Linda Mwananchi in Nyandiwa, Homa Bay, had allegedly identified himself as a National Intelligence Service officer.

The group said that the man’s mobile phone had been seized. It is alleged that individuals who identified themselves as senior police officers made calls to the phone and demanded its return.

The leaders of Linda Mwananchi said that the seized phone would be used as evidence. They said that they would consult their lawyers before handing it over or engaging independent investigative bodies.

However, these claims remain allegations that will require an independent investigation.

The second component of the Linda Mwananchi strategy is political pressure through protests and possible civil disobedience.

Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi, another top figure in Linda Mwananchi, warned that the group could resort to civil action if President Ruto continued to retain officials whom it accuses of orchestrating violence.

“We will revert to civil action if Ruto continues to retain these rogue individuals in his government,” Senator Osotsi said.

He accused some senior government officials of interfering with the command structure of the National Police Service.

“The State is involved in recruitment, training, arming, deployment and remuneration of goons across the country,” Mr Osotsi told Nation.

The group’s third strategy is direct pressure on the police, and yesterday’s appearance at the DCI headquarters was part of that approach. Mr Orengo and Babu Owino, the Member of Parliament for Embakasi East, accompanied Mr Jaoko when he presented himself to the DCI. This was in response to the police’s interest in him following the Homa Bay violence.

Mr Owino accused the police of failing to act when the Linda Mwananchi team was attacked in Homa Bay.

Through this strategy, Linda Mwananchi wants security agencies to prove that they are willing and able to investigate all parties involved in the conflict, rather than targeting only members of the opposition.

In their statement, the Linda Mwananchi leaders also thanked the police officers in Nyandiwa and Sindo who “refused to participate in violence.

The leaders of Linda Mwananchi said this distinction is important because they have no quarrel with the police institution itself, but with individual officers who are violating the Constitution.

In its fourth pillar — civil society and the media — Linda Mwananchi calls for human rights organisations, lawyers, civil society groups and journalists to document political violence.

The group also wants greater media scrutiny and live coverage of political events where violence is anticipated to make it harder for perpetrators to escape accountability.

Linda Mwananchi leaders praised the journalists who reported from Homa Bay despite being harassed.

“To the journalists who stayed and reported despite being targeted themselves: thank you,” the group said.

“In a country where telling the truth is increasingly becoming dangerous, your commitment to documenting what happened is an act of courage.”

Meanwhile, the Orange Democratic Movement has condemned the violence that occurred in Homa Bay.

“No political gathering, whatever its organisers, objectives or message, should become an occasion for violence, or intimidation,” ODM Secretary-General Catherine Omanyo said.

ODM said it had always stood for peaceful, democratic and issue-based political competition and would not tolerate violence as a means of acquiring, exercising or retaining political power.

The party also listed one police officer, Constable Jim Richardson Okundi, as having been killed and gave details of 24 civilians who suffered various injuries, including gunshot wounds, deep cuts, fractures and stab wounds.

Ten security officers were also listed as injured.

The party called for a prompt, impartial and professional investigation, urging authorities to identify and prosecute those responsible regardless of their political affiliation or status.

The competing accounts of what happened in Homa Bay are likely to become an important political battleground in the coming days.

Linda Mwananchi has portrayed the violence as a coordinated attack involving State security agencies and hired goons.

The government and security agencies face the task of investigating those claims while establishing the circumstances that led to the deaths, injuries and destruction of property.

For Linda Mwananchi, however, the immediate political lesson is that retreat is not an option.

“If this administration led by President Ruto believes that the aspirations of ordinary Kenyans can be defeated through intimidation, violence and the misuse of State institutions, then yesterday's events have demonstrated the opposite,” the caucus said.

“Yesterday was meant to break our resolve. Instead, it has strengthened it. We are not slowing down. We are moving into a higher gear.”

That declaration could set the stage for a more confrontational phase of Kenya's politics as parties and political movements intensify preparations for the 2027 General Election.

The movement's leaders are also attempting to transform the Homa Bay violence from an isolated political confrontation into a broader national debate about political violence, police neutrality and the protection of constitutional freedoms.

Mr Orengo's appearance at the DCI headquarters alongside Mr Jaoko was therefore more than a show of solidarity. It was a statement that the movement intends to use every available institutional and political avenue to challenge the government.

But its strategy carries its own risks, according to analysts.

Calls for civil disobedience and mass protests, they say, could create new confrontations with security agencies, particularly if political rallies are held in areas where rival groups are mobilising.

The challenge for Linda Mwananchi will therefore be to maintain pressure without allowing its response to violence to become another source of violence.

ODM has already warned political actors to exercise restraint, arguing that Kenya's democratic space belongs to all citizens and that political competition should never degenerate into confrontation between communities or rival supporters.

As the 2027 contest draws closer, the battle over political space may increasingly be fought not only at rallies and the ballot box, but also in courtrooms, police stations, investigative offices and on the streets.

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jjochieng@ke.nationmedia.com; kbosuben@ke.nationmedia.com

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