Former Chief Justice David Maraga has sent a direct message to President William Ruto over the recent cases of goons invading protests while armed with batons.
Speaking outside All Saints’ Cathedral in Nairobi, where he attended an interdenominational prayer service in honour of young Kenyans killed during the June 2024 anti-Finance Bill protests, Maraga told Ruto that such a move could risk sliding the country into lawlessness.
Maraga unequivocally informed Ruto that if he failed to intervene, the goons would morph and become an insecurity menace, a similar situation being experienced in Haiti.
“I have one short message for President Ruto. President Ruto, the ultimate security and welfare of the people of Kenya rests in your hands,” Maraga stated on Sunday, June 22, 2025.
“Please, don’t send us to the state where Haiti is. When you allow goons to come and disperse peaceful demonstrators on the streets, you are sending us to Haiti,” the emeritus chief justice pleaded with Ruto.
“Please, stop that. You have the ability to stop that,” Maraga reiterated.
On Tuesday, June 17, 2025, protesters in Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) were attacked by a group of armed goons. The goons appeared to side with police officers, drawing uproar across the country.
The incident triggered condemnation, with diplomatic missions, the Law Society of Kenya, and other leaders condemning the use of goons who were recorded several times claiming that they were paid by some lawmakers to counter protesters.
The National Police Service, however, denied siding with the goons and promised to crack down on them.
Stand for young people
At the same time, Maraga, who recently declared interest in taking a stab at the country’s top seat, firmly told a section of the media outside All Saints’ Cathedral that he cannot take a back seat when young people are being killed.
Maraga made it clear that he would continue speaking up against all forms of ills befalling the country.
“The Gen-Zs who are being killed are our children, and we cannot stand idle and watch as they die,” Maraga stated.
The service
Maraga, Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, and DAP-Kenya’s Eugene Wamalwa were among opposition figures attending an interdenominational prayer service.
The service that kicked off at 3 pm, had been organised under the ‘Lest We Forget June 25’ banner by faith-based organizations, including the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya (EAK), and the Kenya Christian Professionals Forum (KCPF), among others.
The leaders donned white shirts and tied the national flag around their shoulders as a sign of peace, remembrance, and unity.
“I’ve joined the faithful together with Chief Justice Emeritus David Maraga and DAP K Party Leader Eugene Wamalwa for an interdenominational prayer service at the All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi,” Kalonzo wrote via his official X account.
