By Jackie Adhyambo
As we stand, Wednesday, June 25th, 2025, looms large on Kenya’s calendar. It is a date earmarked by some for so-called mass protests. Well, the right to peaceful assembly—enshrined in Article 37 of our Constitution—is sacrosanct. Indeed, it is a vital pillar of any democracy and the lifeblood through which legitimate grievances that demand attention and redress in society flow.
Yet, as this day approaches, a chilling shadow threatens to eclipse the noble intentions of genuine activism. It foreshadows a spectre of anarchy, masquerading as liberation and ready to hijack supposed dissent so as to plunge our streets into chaos. While we encourage freedom of expression we also should ensure the anarchist is never mistaken for the activist.
The activist and the anarchist are worlds apart. The activist, however impassioned, operates within the framework of a society they seek to improve. Their tools are persuasion, organisation, legal challenge, and peaceful demonstration. They march with clear demands, their eyes fixed on accountability or reform. Their power lies in the moral force of their cause and the collective will of the people they seek to represent.
Meanwhile, the anarchists are parasites on protest. They harbour a nihilistic contempt for order itself. Their goal is not reform, but rupture. They thrive on chaos. They see society not as a structure to mend, but as an edifice to demolish. Their tools are the rock, the Molotov cocktail, and the opportunistic looting spree. They infiltrate peaceful marches like a virus, seeking the critical mass of a crowd to shield their criminal intent.
To mistake the anarchist for the activist is a catastrophic abdication of civic responsibility. It grants a veneer of legitimacy to pure criminality while allowing those who seek to burn Kenya the mantle of those who in reality seek to build it up. This confusion is precisely what the anarchist always craves and exploits.
We all know the script because we have seen it before. Peaceful demonstrations almost always morph into running battles. What we witness next are smashed shops, torched vehicles, and innocent Kenyans terrorised. We have seen livelihoods destroyed in minutes, not by state oppression, but by the wanton vandalism of thugs exploiting the cover of protest. The aftermath is always the same – rubble, dismay and anarchy.
Time has come to call things by name. Let us not sugarcoat or mince words. When masked individuals start hurling stones, setting fires, or looting, call them what they are – criminals and anarchists. They are not “radical activists” or “angry youth.” They are enemies of public order and the very progress genuine activists seek.
In this game of anarchy, silence becomes complicity. Community leaders, religious figures, civil society organisations, opposition politicians, and ordinary citizens must publicly, loudly, and consistently condemn acts of anarchic violence as they happen. We must denounce the act and the poisonous ideology that fuels it.
Genuine activists have a profound responsibility to isolate and expel anarchist elements from their ranks and must never provide cover or justification for the destroyers. Meanwhile, the police have a duty to protect life and property and Kenyans must support their efforts to swiftly and decisively target those engaging in violence and destruction.
While at it, we all must beware of narratives peddled by apologists for chaos or those with ulterior motives that equate the state’s duty to maintain order with the anarchist’s desire to incite terror. Defending a bank from being looted is not oppression. Instead, it is protection of people’s savings and jobs.
Kenya’s resilience has always been in its people’s inherent desire for peace, stability, and the chance to build a better tomorrow. However, anarchism offers only a scorched earth solution pursued by jaundiced individuals who care little for the future good for all and who are ready to cut off their noses to spite their faces.
Anarchy is the antithesis of hope and enemy of progress. We must condemn anarchists and protect Kenya. It belongs to us, not to any select group of persons and not even those occupying the highest echelons of power and authority!
Adhyambo is a Nakuru-based knowledge management consultant
