Plans to sabotage the protests began late last week, following a directive from a senior Nairobi-based politician to ruthlessly deal with peaceful demonstrators. Much of the mobilisation was carried out by estate chairpersons, who supplied clubs, whips, and crude weapons to youth, picking individuals from Congo, Dagoretti North, Dagoretti South, and Mathare. In the days leading up to the protests, several politicians issued stern warnings, urging demonstrators to stay out of the Central Business District and threatening strong opposition for those who defied the warning. Some sources claim that the hired goons anticipated violence and were unwilling to back down.

According to interviews, some of them received phone calls earlier in the week with job offers, promises of Ksh 2,000, and assurances that police had been instructed not to harm them. Upon arrival, the goons reported encountering a large group of protesters who launched an assault on them and set some of their motorcycles on fire. One rider, trying to flee the protesters’ wrath, was cornered on Koinange Street and beaten. He was then interrogated about who had hired him. What set the goons apart from legitimate protesters was their close interaction with the police. They walked alongside officers, despite being visibly armed with pangas, clubs, and whips. The Government Spokesperson dismissed the suggestion that the goons represented the government’s interests and instead blamed the peaceful protesters for provoking the police into confrontations.