The violence that greeted the Linda Mwananchi tour in Homa Bay was not merely an ugly political clash. It was a warning that Kenya is slowly normalising organised intolerance as the 2027 General Election approaches.
Sunday, August 16, 2026, will go down as a shameful day in the history of Homa Bay politics and, more broadly, in Kenya’s democratic journey. The Linda Mwananchi convoy led by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, alongside Embakasi East MP Babu Owino and other opposition leaders, was confronted by violent groups, barricaded roads and crude weapons in full view of security officers. Reports from the county showed roads blocked by stones and other barriers, while rival youths clashed as political slogans were shouted. What should have been an ordinary political tour became a spectacle of intolerance, fear and organised disorder.
That this happened in Homa Bay, a region deeply associated with the late Raila Odinga and Kenya’s long struggle for multiparty democracy, makes it even more disgraceful. A political backyard associated for decades with resistance to repression should not become a place where political visitors are met with barricades, threats and gangs. Raila fought for the freedom to speak anywhere in Kenya, including hostile political territory. Turning Homa Bay into a political no-go zone would therefore be a betrayal of that democratic tradition.
Wanga and Kaluma Must Answer for the Political Climate
The events of Sunday cannot be divorced from the political rhetoric that preceded the Linda Mwananchi tour. Governor Gladys Wanga and other Homa Bay leaders had publicly mobilised against the movement and made it clear that they opposed its political message. Opposition to Sifuna is legitimate. Declaring political opponents unwanted, however, creates a combustible atmosphere in a country where excited supporters often take political language literally.
More troubling are remarks attributed to Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma. A video circulating publicly has triggered accusations that his statements were inflammatory and could encourage confrontation with supporters of the “Wantam” slogan. Political leaders must understand that words spoken to charged crowds can quickly become marching orders in the ears of supporters.
The proverbial warning is simple: the tongue has no bones, but it can break bones. Kenya has paid dearly before for reckless political speech, yet some leaders appear determined to test how close the country can again be pushed toward the cliff.
NCIC and DCI Cannot Keep Applying Selective Urgency
Kenyans are entitled to ask why enforcement appears so uneven. Mukurwe-ini MP John Kaguchia was arrested and investigated with remarkable speed after controversial remarks. When the State wanted to act, it acted.
The same urgency must apply to Peter Kaluma and any other politician whose public statements may amount to incitement. The NCIC, DCI, National Police Service and ODPP cannot become political weather vanes that turn according to who is speaking. Justice must apply equally to government allies and government critics.
If Kaguchia could be arrested and investigated, then Kaluma must face the same standard. Anything less deepens the perception that Kenya now has one law for those close to power and another for everyone else.
The Panga Scene Shows How Dangerous This Has Become
Babu Owino and his supporters can reasonably argue that they were responding to an organised threat and defending themselves after being confronted by hostile groups and blocked roads. That context matters and should not be distorted.
But the fact that opposition supporters also appeared prepared with crude weapons, including pangas, is itself evidence of how badly political order is breaking down. It shows what happens when citizens begin to believe that the police may not protect them and that the only answer to organised goons is to prepare their own defence.
That is the dangerous picture ICTV E-Press is condemning.
Once political groups are pushed into preparing for physical confrontation before rallies, the country is no longer merely experiencing intolerance; it is edging toward organised chaos. Today one camp blocks a road, the other arms itself for protection. Tomorrow the weapons become deadlier, and before long Kenya is mourning young people while politicians trade accusations.
When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. The political leaders will leave in their convoys. It is ordinary young Kenyans who will bleed.
Where Were the Police?
The failure of the security establishment is equally disturbing. Police exist to prevent rival political groups from turning public roads into battlegrounds. Yet Kenyans repeatedly see gangs disrupting political events while officers appear unable or unwilling to stop them.
The National Police Service, DCI and Interior Ministry must explain how groups could barricade roads and confront a political convoy despite prior knowledge that tensions surrounding the Homa Bay tour were already high. Their responsibility is not to protect one political side from another. It is to protect the constitutional space in which both sides can operate.
If the police continue watching goons dominate political streets, then the message being sent to Kenyans is dangerous: organise your own defence because the state may not protect you. That is how political violence becomes normalised.
Do Not Burn the Bridge That Carried You Across
The people of Homa Bay and Luo Nyanza must also reflect carefully on the political message being sent beyond the region. Edwin Sifuna and many leaders now associated with Linda Mwananchi stood with Raila Odinga through difficult political seasons. Western Kenya and the wider Mulembe community contributed significantly to ODM’s national strength.
It would therefore be politically foolish to allow temporary alliances around President Ruto to turn old allies into enemies.
Do not burn the bridge that carried you across the river simply because your clothes are now dry.
Raila’s political stature extended far beyond Luo Nyanza. He became a national figure because Kenyans from many communities believed in his causes and stood with him. President Ruto may legitimately seek to inherit some of that political support, but Raila’s voters cannot be inherited like cattle or land. They must be persuaded.
Using hostility against Sifuna will not weaken him. It may do the opposite. Nothing strengthens an opposition leader faster than the perception that powerful people are frightened of allowing him to speak.
President Ruto Must Choose Between Democracy and Goonism
President William Ruto must also understand that Kenya will still exist after the 2027 election, whether he wins or loses. He was given the privilege of becoming President. That should be enough to remind him that power is temporary and that no country should be pushed toward violence merely to extend one man’s stay in office.
If Kenyans re-elect him, he should govern. If they reject him, he should leave peacefully. A leader confident in his record does not require gangs to confront opponents, nor police brutality to silence dissent.
The growing pattern of political violence, disrupted opposition meetings and accusations of organised goons is becoming an intolerable stain on his administration. Whether every gang is directly organised by government officials or not, the state bears responsibility for stopping them, arresting them and ensuring they face the full force of the law.
ICTV E-Press Clarion Call: Arrest the Inciters, Apprehend the Goons
The Homa Bay violence must not disappear into another cycle of political accusations and empty police promises. Every person who blocked roads, carried weapons, attacked political supporters or threatened journalists should be identified, arrested and prosecuted according to law.
The same must apply to political leaders whose statements may have encouraged violence. Peter Kaluma must face the same legal scrutiny that John Kaguchia faced. If investigations establish an offence, he must be arrested and arraigned. Anything less will reinforce the growing belief that Kenya now has one law for government allies and another for everyone else.
NCIC must act. DCI must act. The National Police Service must act. The ODPP must follow the evidence and prosecute without political favour.
Homa Bay should never again witness scenes where one political formation is forced to prepare crude weapons because organised goons have been mobilised against it. That is not a healthy opposition problem; it is evidence of a state and political culture failing to guarantee peaceful democratic competition.
ICTV E-Press condemns the violence without qualification and issues this warning to the political class: Kenya needs an election in 2027, not a war.
Stop the incitement. Arrest the goons. Apply the law equally. Let every politician speak anywhere in Kenya, and let the people settle political disagreements peacefully at the ballot box.
Lekishon Laban
Editor-in-Chief, ICTV E-Press
Where Truth Confronts Power
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