Bradley Ouna in one of the protests in Mombasa / BRIAN OTIENO
Mombasa human rights activist Bradley Ouna was grilled for six hours on Saturday by the DCI about Monday’s planned Saba Saba protests.
Ouna, a law graduate, was accused of planning chaos during the protests, an accusation he denied.
He is the one who signed the letter to the police, notifying them about peaceful protests planned for Monday.
Violence and looting broke out around the country on June 25, but Mombasa was largely peaceful.
Police rejected the planned protests, citing security reasons, potentially setting the stage for clashes between the security apparatus and demonstrators.
“We are writing to formally notify you of our intention to hold a peaceful procession and public concert on July 7, 2025, Monday in Mombasa county in commemoration of Saba Saba Day,” Ouna wrote to the officer commanding station of the Central police station.
He said the peaceful procession would begin at 8 am and end at 5 pm and Mombasa residents would march from Saba Saba area, proceed to Mwembe Tayari, then to Fontanella, and end with a concert at Uhuru Gardens.
Central police station OCS Central Sylvester Wambua said his office has “declined and canceled the request for security reasons.”
“The intelligence so far gathered indicates that goons with criminal motives intend to hijack the process to cause anarchy, mayhem and looting,” Wambua wrote back to Ouna.
“In the interest of peace and stability of this coastal tourist town, we find that it is not advisable for you to hold the procession for security reasons stated above.”
In Kenya, Saba Saba Day is commemorated as the day when nationwide protests took place on July 7, 1990, when Kenyans took to the streets to demand free elections.
The politicians who had called for the protests, Kenneth Matiba and Charles Rubia, were arrested days before the protest.
They became icons of democracy. On Saturday, after the grilling, Ouna described himself as the “Kenneth Matiba incarnate,” saying he is being vilified for demanding a better Kenya.
He was summoned to return to the regional police headquarters on Monday at 11 am. The Concerned Citizens Kenya convener told the Star he received a call from a supposed DCI officer, who identified himself only as Ogutu, on Friday at around 5 pm, asking him to present himself at the Coast police regional headquarters on Saturday at 11 am.
Accompanied by lawyers and activists Zedekiah Adika and Titus Munyanzi, Ouna said he was accused of being ruthless and radicalising the youth in Mombasa using his social media accounts.
“They said I am ever calling for protests in Mombasa and emboldening the youth by telling them I will provide them with cash bail and lawyers should they be arrested,” Ouna said.
“They said they are giving me a soft warning and that I should tone down my language on the socials.”
He told the Star he was accused of being the cause of increased protests in Mombasa because the number of protests has significantly increased ever since he arrived in Mombasa.
Ouna, who studied law at the University of Dar es Salaam, said he has been organising protests in Mombasa but said they have always been peaceful.
“I was part of the organisers of the June 25 protests in Mombasa the other day, and they were peaceful, and the security apparatus praised us for that. Mombasa is the only place where protests were peaceful,” he said.
The activist said his social media posts are not extremist, as the DCI calls them Adika said Ouna has not planned any violent protests.
“Ouna, by and large, is a person who has been giving guidance on how the processes are to be done,” Adika said of his client.
He said Ouna cannot possibly be planning a disruptive exercise and then tell the police that he is doing so.
“If you are planning a disruptive exercise, you would not do it in the open and even tell the police that you will do it, and that you will move from this place to this place, from this time to this time,” the lawyer said.
“Any innocent Kenyan who is called by police to go and share information, they are in their place to go and share, but police should not use that to disrupt exercises and to waste people’s time.”
Veteran human rights activist Khelef Khalifa said the DCI are intimidating human rights activists because they are afraid Kenyans are increasingly informed and empowered to fight for their own rights.
“The problem with this kind of police officers is that they don’t do the work they are supposed to do. They take instructions, and those instructions are political instructions,” Khalifa said.
He said that if the security apparatus has intelligence reports that goons are preparing to cause anarchy, mayhem and looting, then they should arrest those goons.
“I think in Kisauni, Changamwe, Likoni, and Mombasa everyone should do demonstrations in their own areas. They should not concentrate on one place. That will be a very nice message to these people,” Khalifa said.
“This arrogance must be met with arrogance.”
He said human rights activists will press charges against individuals, including the police, who will cause any chaos on Monday.
