A peaceful demonstration marking the one-year anniversary of Kenya’s Gen-Z protests turned deadly in Molo town on Wednesday, culminating in the death of a teenage student, destruction of public property, and injuries to both civilians and police officers.
Seventeen-year-old Dennis Njuguna Ngugi, a Form Three student at Njenga Karume Secondary School, was shot dead by a stray bullet during the unrest. The bullet is believed to have been fired during an attempt by police to disperse an increasingly agitated crowd.
According to a police report filed at Molo Police Station, the protest began at around 9:30 a.m. with more than 500 youths gathering in the Tayari and Keepleft areas. However, the situation escalated by midday when an additional 800 protesters joined in at the Peace area, intensifying the march towards Munju.
Protesters soon began blocking the Molo–Elburgon road with bonfires and hurling stones at vehicles. Efforts by officers from the GSU Jolly Farm Camp to contain the chaos were met with resistance, with one officer, Constable Samuel Waititu, sustaining injuries including the loss of a tooth.
By late afternoon, the demonstration had swelled to over 2,000 participants. The crowd marched to Molo Police Station where they set ablaze a police dog kennel, looted a Coca-Cola kiosk, and vandalised nearby shops and market stalls.
Reinforcements from Njoro, Kuresoi South, and additional GSU units were deployed, but the mob advanced to the Molo Sub-County Municipal Offices. There, they torched a fire engine, water bowser, three government vehicles, and a tractor.
In a final wave of destruction, the crowd looted Capital Supermarket and attempted to storm the residence of the area Member of Parliament. Security teams successfully repelled the attack.
Three suspects were arrested in connection with the looting. Meanwhile, the body of the slain student was taken to Molo Sub-County Mortuary for a postmortem.
As calm gradually returns, questions linger over the excessive use of force, the scale of destruction, and the deepening frustration among Kenya’s youth that fueled such violence
