Kenyan Police Didn’t Issue Statement Alleging Immigrants Were Involved in Violent Street Protests
IN SHORT: A post going viral on social media in Kenya appears to show a statement from the National Police Service alleging that immigrants were involved in violent street protests. However, the police have labelled it as fake.
An image of what appears to be a statement by Kenya’s National Police Service (NPS) alleges that immigrants are increasingly becoming involved in violent protests in parts of the country.
The statement, dated 6 July 2025, features the NPS logo and has the title: “CONCERNS OVER FOREIGNERS INVOLVED IN VIOLENT STREET PROTESTS.”
“The National Police Service is concerned with increased involvement of foreigners and undisclosed immigrants in violent street protests in Nairobi and other parts of the country,” reads part of the statement.
It adds that during the last two protests in June, police arrested 122 individuals of various nationalities in connection with the destruction of property, looting and the burning of police stations. The list includes individuals from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, South Sudan, Yemen and those who it claims are stateless.
“The NPS working closely with the department of immigration has intensified crackdown on illegal immigrants working in Kenya without proper documentation. The Police Service is calling on patriotic Kenyans to identify illegal immigrants and inform the nearest police stations for arrest and subsequent deportations,” it says.
Kenya witnessed a series of protests by human rights activists and young people, commonly referred to as generation Z or Gen Z, following the death of Albert Ojwang. The 31-year-old social media influencer died in police custody on 8 June.
These protests built momentum ahead of 25 June, when young Kenyans commemorated the June 2024 demonstrations sparked by that year’s widely unpopular Finance Bill. The demonstrations also aimed to honour protesters killed by police during those events and to decry police brutality and poor governance.
On 7 July 2025, Kenyans once again took to the streets to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the historic Saba Saba protests, which marked the beginning of the country’s push for multiparty democracy.
The 2025 protests, like those in previous years, were marred by violence, resulting in deaths and destruction of property.
The statement has been posted here and here. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of this report.)
But has the Kenyan police issued a statement alleging that immigrants infiltrated the protests? We checked.
Fake statement
The NPS often communicates with the public through its social media accounts, including Facebook and X. However, we found no such statement from the police on these platforms.
On 7 June, the police posted an image of the statement with the word “FAKE” printed on it.
“This press statement circulating on social media, purporting to be issued by the Spokesperson of the National Police Service, is fake,” it cautioned.
The statement is fake and should be disregarded.
By Africa Check
