A TIFA Research survey has found that most Kenyans support peaceful and lawful demonstrations, while the national government and police are most frequently blamed when protests turn violent.
The survey released on September 9, 2026, found that 82% of respondents support peaceful and lawful public demonstrations, compared with 16% who oppose them. A further 2% either did not know or gave no response.
Support remained high across political divisions. Among respondents who support the Broad-Based Government (BBG), 79% supported peaceful demonstrations, compared with 86% among those who oppose the arrangement.
The poll also examined perceptions of responsibility for violence associated with demonstrations and protests. The national government or President was identified by 42% of respondents as mainly responsible. The police followed at 24%, while 12% blamed local politicians.
Only 9% identified protesters or demonstrators as primarily responsible. A further 6% blamed jobless youth or Gen-Z, while 4% were unsure.
TIFA said the findings placed greater responsibility for protest-related violence on state institutions than on demonstrators or other groups.
“While a plurality of all Kenyans (42%) blame the national government/the president for the violence that often occurs during recent protests (which increases to 66% if the Police are considered part of the national government), BBG supporters are rather less inclined to attribute blame in this combined category compared to its opponents (53% vs. 76%),” the report says.
The survey found a political divide in perceptions of responsibility. TIFA reported that 52% of BBG opponents blamed the national government and/or President for violence, compared with 29% of BBG supporters. Conversely, 13% of BBG supporters blamed protesters or demonstrators, compared with 6% of opponents.
Despite these differences, TIFA said support for peaceful demonstrations remained widespread.
“However, the fact that almost as many BBG supporters as opponents support the right of Kenyans to engage in such actions (79% vs. 86%) underscores how widespread is this constitutionally-guaranteed freedom valued across the main current political divide,” the report says.
The findings form part of TIFA’s second release based on its first national survey of 2026. The wider research examined economic conditions, public policy issues and institutional trust, including links with attitudes towards the BBG.
Fieldwork was conducted from June 13 to 22, 2026, over 10 days. Researchers carried out face-to-face, household-based interviews with 2,048 randomly selected Kenyan adults aged 18 and above across all 47 counties.
The nationally representative sample of adults was spread across the country and nine zones: Central Rift, Coast, Lower Eastern, Mt Kenya, Nairobi, Northern, Nyanza, South Rift and Western. Interviews were conducted mainly in Swahili and English.
TIFA reported a margin of error of plus or minus 2.18%, with larger margins applying to sub-samples.
TIFA cautioned that the findings represent public opinion at the time of fieldwork and that events occurring during or after data collection could affect views if the questions were asked again.
Overall, the results clearly show strong support for peaceful protest, alongside a public tendency to hold government institutions chiefly responsible when demonstrations become violent.