DCP-allied MPs accuse government of sponsoring goons to discredit protests

Members of Parliament allied to the Democratic for Citizens Party (DCP) have accused the government of using criminal gangs to infiltrate peaceful protests, destroy property and blame communities seen as opposing the Kenya Kwanza administration.

Addressing the press at Parliament on Tuesday, the lawmakers claimed the violence witnessed during recent demonstrations was planned to discredit protest movements and target regions linked to opposition politics, including Mt. Kenya, Eastern Kenya and areas associated with the Gen Z movement.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Wanjikū Mūhìa accused the state of funding and deploying goons during demonstrations before using the destruction to criminalise protesters.

“We, the undersigned Members of Parliament aligned to the Democratic for Citizens Party (DCP), rise with one voice to state clearly, on the record, and without equivocation: this government is sponsoring, funding, and deploying criminal goons to infiltrate legitimate protests, cause destruction, and weaponize that destruction to criminalise and profile communities that dare to oppose it,” said Mūhìa.

The MPs defended transport operators who withdrew services on May 18, 2026, saying they were exercising their constitutional right to protest over rising fuel prices.

“Let us be unequivocal, the matatu and transport operators who withdrew services on 18th May 2026 were exercising a constitutional and legitimate right. Their protest was peaceful. Their cause was just,” said Mūhìa.

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The lawmakers linked the recent unrest to the Gen Z protests of June 2024 and the Saba Saba protests of July 2025, claiming gangs infiltrated demonstrations while security agencies failed to act.

“The evidence of deliberate state infiltration is clearly seen during the Gen Z protests of June 2024, goons infiltrated peaceful demonstrations, police stations were torched while security forces watched, and the protest movement was blamed,” Mūhìa stated.

They also cited the torching of a vehicle belonging to a United Democratic Alliance aspirant in Githurai during the May 18 fuel protests, describing it as a planned provocation.

“We state without hesitation: this was stage-managed. This was a planted provocation, placed deliberately to be filmed, amplified, and used to paint the protests as partisan violence,” Mūhìa said.

The statement comes amid tension following protests that reportedly left four people dead, over 30 injured and nearly 350 arrested across 29 counties.

The DCP MPs criticised Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, accusing him of politicising the crisis instead of addressing public concerns.

“CS Murkomen arrogantly asked why transport operators ‘understood President Uhuru Kenyatta’ during previous fuel price increases but chose to protest under President Ruto,” said Mūhìa.

“This is not leadership. This is a Cabinet Secretary abandoning his constitutional duty to weaponize a national crisis for political ends. It is a disgrace to the office he holds.”

The lawmakers also faulted Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi and Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi over their handling of the nationwide strike.

“He was contradicted immediately, on live television, by the very people he claimed had agreed. ‘We have not agreed on anything,’ the matatu representative told the nation plainly,” said Mūhìa.

The MPs defended the people of the Mt. Kenya region, saying their democratic rights and political voice must be protected.

“The people of the Mt. Kenya region are patriotic Kenyans who have contributed immensely to the economic and democratic fabric of this nation. Their dignity, their rights, and their democratic voice will be defended in Parliament, in the courts, and in the public square,” Mūhìa stated.