Several people arrested in Nairobi CBD as police thwart planned fuel protests
Written by Inka FM on 21 April 2026
Several individuals were arrested in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, after police moved swiftly to block planned protests over the rising cost of fuel and the high cost of living.
The demonstrators, believed to be part of a youth-led movement, had attempted to gather in parts of the city centre, including the busy area near the Kenya National Archives, before being dispersed by anti-riot police. The incident disrupted the ongoing Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) voter registration exercise at the said area as the protesters clashed with the police.
A heavy police presence across key streets in the CBD was reported early in the day, with officers closely monitoring movement and dispersing small groups suspected of mobilising for protests.
Videos circulating on social media show police officers confronting protesters and bundling several of them into waiting police vehicles as they attempted to prevent the demonstrations from gaining momentum.
In one widely shared clip, officers are seen struggling with a man who appeared to resist arrest, drawing mixed reactions from the public online.
Fuel protests
The planned protests were reportedly organised in response to the continued rise in fuel prices, which has had a ripple effect on the cost of basic commodities and transport across the country.
By Tuesday afternoon, calm had largely returned to the Nairobi CBD, although police presence remained heightened in anticipation of any further attempts to organise protests.
Many Kenyans, particularly young people, have increasingly taken to social media and the streets to express frustration over the economic situation.
Tuesday’s attempted demonstrations follow a series of similar protests in recent months, highlighting growing public pressure on the government to address the cost-of-living crisis.
The arrests and police response have sparked debate, with some supporting the move to maintain order in the city, while others raised concerns over the handling of protesters.
Security concerns
Authorities have, in recent weeks, maintained that while peaceful protests are allowed, there are concerns about potential infiltration by criminal elements.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has claimed that recent public protests across the country have been infiltrated by criminal elements, turning what should be lawful demonstrations into organised acts of looting and destruction.
Speaking before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, Murkomen claimed that security agencies have observed a troubling pattern where protests are increasingly being used as a cover for criminal activity.
told lawmakers that demonstrations witnessed in recent years, particularly in 2024 and 2025, have deviated from their intended purpose of peaceful civic expression.
According to the CS, areas including Nyandarua, Kiambu, Murang’a, Kirinyaga, Meru, Kitengela, Nairobi, and Machakos have seen protests that he described as “mobilisations of gangs, thieves and robbers”.
“When we hear public protests, when the inspector general of police and the security team hear that there will be a public protest, like it happened in 2024 and 2025, it is no longer a civilised protest. It is actually a mobilisation of gangs, thieves and robbers,” Murkomen said.
“The cases that we saw in Nyandarua, Kiambu, Kikuyu, Murang’a, Kirinyaga, Meru, Kitengela, Nairobi and Machakos, the Nairobi metropolitan area and the counties in the central region are now becoming an epicentre of protests that are organised with gangs, with criminals and with robbers, so when you hear protests will happen, you know supermarkets will be targeted, shops are being targeted, and security installations are being targeted.”
