By:Robert Mutasi
On paper, August 16 was just another political date on the calendar — the Linda Mwananchi movement was scheduled to storm Homa Bay for its nationwide civic engagement tour. On the ground, it turned into a day of chaos that had nothing to do with speeches on a podium, and everything to do with the lives of ordinary people.
When six people were arrested for allegedly attacking Linda Mwananchi officials ahead of the rally, Homa Bay Town erupted. Their supporters lit bonfires, clashed with police, and staged running battles that disrupted businesses and transport.
For a mama mboga at the main market, that meant her tomatoes rotted because customers could not cross the blocked roads. For a boda boda rider, it meant a day without income because police ordered riders to stay off the main highway. For school children, it meant classes ending early as parents rushed to pick them up fearing teargas.
This is the hidden cost of political intolerance that the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) warned about on 16th August when it condemned violence in Homa Bay.
Organizers of Linda Mwananchi had followed the law. They met the Homa Bay county police commander and submitted a written notification as required under the Public Order Act. The commander assured them of security and they promised peace.
“We are guaranteeing that we will be very peaceful and we pray that all our followers, those who truly support Linda Mwananchi, will be peaceful on that day and will not cause any fracas,” one organizer said.
Yet the promise of peace was broken not by the organizers, but by rival groups. The movement itself said it would not be intimidated and would not back down, insisting the rally would proceed as planned.
This pattern — goons attacking planners, arrests, then retaliatory protests — is now familiar in Kenya’s pre-2027 political season. Siaya Governor James Orengo had to publicly vow that the Homa Bay rally would go ahead despite threats, citing constitutional freedoms.
But while leaders trade warnings, it is the small trader who pays. When businesses are temporarily disrupted after youths protest arrests, the county loses revenue, supply chains break, and families that live hand-to-mouth go hungry for a day.
The Linda Mwananchi tour, led by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, has been traversing the country mobilizing wananchi on governance, economy and cost of living. It relies on small contributions as low as Sh10 through a paybill to finance its activities. The idea was to build a grassroots movement where the public finances leaders.
When that grassroots conversation is met with bonfires and batons, the soul of the nation is what is injured — not just a political faction. Homa Bay did not just witness a rally; it witnessed how political rivalry can shut down a town’s economy in hours, and why tolerance is not a political slogan but a livelihood issue.
