A political movement arrives in town. Leaders meet wananchi. Speeches begin. Supporters gather. Then, suddenly, tear gas fills the air and people start running. And somehow, in today's Kenya, we are expected to treat this as normal politics.
The Linda Mwananchi tour of Meru was supposed to be about taking the opposition message into new territory ahead of 2027. Instead, it became another episode in a growing political drama involving tear gas, political attacks, competing ambitions, and questions about whether Kenya is once again heading toward an election season where political disagreement becomes physical confrontation. Reports from Makutano say tear gas was lobbed into the gathering, briefly disrupting the rally. Sifuna urged supporters not to run, and the meeting eventually continued.
Meru is politically important. It is part of the Mt. Kenya East political equation and a region where Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has considerable political influence. So, when Sifuna, Babu Owino, Boni Khalwale, George Natembeya, Godfrey Osotsi, and Kawira Mwangaza descended on Meru, they were doing more than greeting wananchi. The movement held engagements in Kiiria, Githongo, Nkubu, Makutano, and Kianjai as it attempted to build grassroots support ahead of 2027. That is not a small political exercise; it is an attempt to redraw the opposition map.Several reports attributed the incident to police, although there has since been disagreement over who was actually responsible for some of the tear-gas incidents affecting Linda Mwananchi events. ODM strategist Fred Okango has even challenged the movement to help establish who is behind them, and that is exactly why there must be an investigation. Because if police officers really dispersed a peaceful political gathering using tear gas without lawful justification, that is unacceptable. But if someone else deliberately introduced tear gas to create the appearance of state repression, that is equally dangerous. We cannot build a democracy on political rumours.
Whatever one thinks about Edwin Sifuna, the man understands political theatre. When the tear gas appeared, he did not abandon the crowd. He told supporters to remain calm and insisted that tear gas would not end the Linda Mwananchi meeting. The rally subsequently continued. Politically, that was a powerful moment.
If the intention is to weaken Linda Mwananchi, such tactics could easily produce the opposite result. This is where the opposition also needs to hear some uncomfortable truth. Sifuna and his colleagues are not innocent spectators in Kenya's political theatre. They know exactly how to provoke a political response. They know how to produce headlines. They know that confrontation creates viral videos. And they know that the phrase "state repression" is politically powerful. That does not mean they deserve to be attacked. It means they also have a responsibility.
If Linda Mwananchi wants to present itself as the people's movement, it must demonstrate that it can organise peacefully, protect its supporters, and condemn violence even when that violence benefits its political narrative. Otherwise, it risks becoming another political machine built around anger rather than solutions.
Perhaps the biggest political story from Meru was not even the tear gas. It was the attempted coronation of Edwin Sifuna. Babu Owino publicly backed Sifuna. George Natembeya backed him. Godfrey Osotsi backed him. Kawira Mwangaza backed him. The message was clear.
But there is a problem. Just days earlier, Siaya Governor James Orengo had declared his own interest in seeking the Linda Mwananchi presidential nomination. And Orengo was notably absent from the Meru tour, although he sent a message of solidarity to the team. That is not a small detail. The opposition is already fighting the government. Now it appears to be fighting itself.
This could become Linda Mwananchi's biggest headache. A political movement can survive attacks from outside. It is much harder to survive ambitions from within. Sifuna is young, energetic, and increasingly popular among a section of the opposition. Orengo is an experienced political heavyweight with decades of political history. Both have reasons to believe they can lead.
But Kenya has seen this movie before. Opposition politicians unite against the incumbent. They hold rallies together. They chant unity. They promise change. Then the question of who gets the ticket arrives. Suddenly, the brothers become competitors. The friends become rivals. And the "people's movement" becomes another negotiation over power. Linda Mwananchi must answer this question sooner rather than later: Who will lead it into 2027?
Mwangaza welcomed the movement and publicly endorsed Sifuna's presidential ambitions. But her own political history in Meru is complicated. At the Meru rally, some residents reportedly booed her, while a Meru MCA subsequently defended her role in her impeachment saga. That should tell Linda Mwananchi something important. Meru politics is not a blank cheque. The people there have their own memories, loyalties, grievances, and ambitions.
Sifuna used Meru to attack President William Ruto over the government's economic record, constitutional freedoms, and the controversial procurement of new police uniforms. Boni Khalwale alleged that the uniforms cost far more than they should have, while Sifuna accused the administration of corruption. These are political allegations and should be investigated rather than accepted simply because a politician made them. But politically, the message was obvious: Linda Mwananchi is trying to turn 2027 into a referendum on Ruto.
It is a simple message. And simple political messages can be extremely powerful. This is where I become sceptical. It is easy to say, "Ruto has failed." It is easy to say, "The government is corrupt." It is easy to attack government corruption. But what happens on January 1, 2028? What will Linda Mwananchi actually do about Kenya's debt? What will it do about unemployment? What happens to the cost of living? How will it fund healthcare? How will it reform the police? What happens to agriculture? How will it create jobs for millions of young Kenyans? How will it reduce waste in government? How will it prevent corruption within its own government?
Kenyans have had enough of politicians who are excellent at explaining why the other guy is terrible but suddenly become very quiet when asked what they themselves will do. Linda Mwananchi has energy. It has crowds. It has personalities. It has social-media momentum. But those things alone do not make a government. If the movement wants to be taken seriously, it must evolve. It must publish policies. It must explain its economic programme. It must explain who will lead it. It must explain how leaders will be selected. It must explain how money will be raised. It must explain how it will prevent corruption.
Not because tear gas was used, but because of what the political environment around it represents. We are still more than a year away from the 2027 General Election. Already, we are seeing rallies disrupted, political leaders attacked, vehicles torched, opposition factions competing, presidential ambitions emerging, accusations of state-sponsored violence, and political movements travelling around the country building support. That should worry everyone.
Kenya cannot afford another election season where political competition becomes a justification for violence. The police have a responsibility. The opposition has a responsibility. Government supporters have a responsibility. Political leaders have a responsibility. And ordinary wananchi have a responsibility.
Linda Mwananchi has crossed an important line in Meru. It is no longer something that can simply be laughed away. It has demonstrated that it can mobilise outside its traditional political territory. It has put Sifuna's presidential ambitions firmly on the table. It has challenged Ruto directly. And it has shown that the road to 2027 will be politically brutal.
But the movement now faces its hardest challenge. Can it survive the Orengo question? Can it win over people who do not already hate Ruto? Can it move beyond rallies? Can it offer a credible government? And can it condemn political violence even when that violence helps its own narrative?
Because Kenyans have seen this story before. Every election cycle produces a new group of politicians promising to save the country. Then power changes hands. The slogans disappear. The faces change. And the mwananchi is still struggling.
So my message to Linda Mwananchi is simple: If you want Kenyans to trust you with power, show them what you intend to do with it.
And my message to the government is even simpler: Don't tear-gas it. Don't intimidate it. Don't manufacture martyrs for it. Because if Kenya has learned anything from its political history, it is this: you cannot suppress a political idea with tear gas. You can only make it louder.
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