As the three-day nationwide protests got underway on Wednesday, information has come to light regarding the various tactics police used to attempt and contain the protesters.

The officers were able to combat demonstrators successfully by using chopper deployment for aerial surveillance, camouflaging and deployment of slum mobility techniques.

As part of their anti-riot strategy, police officers disguised themselves as civilians and used guerrilla methods to drive protesters out of the city.


Others wore casual clothes to pass as demonstrators or their supporters while concealing deadly weapons, while some wore aprons that were popular with street and supermarket vendors.

Some policemen pretended to be street sellers in the Capital City's downtown, selling biscuits and water, while others sat on benches as idlers in Jevanjee and the popular Kencom neighbourhoods.

The plan was intricate but aimed to exclude protesters from the CBD, which they succeeded in doing with great success.

Some pretended to be journalists and protesters as well, and they didn't start acting until they had developed a strong connection with the crowd and had convinced them that they were harmless.


Police in disguise as a journalist dramatically detained a protester in Nairobi's Mathare slums following several minutes of deception that took the protesters off guard.

This compelled the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) to denounce the occurrence, claiming that it might jeopardise the lives of journalists working for a living.

David Omwoyo, the chief executive officer of MCK, described this as improper behaviour by the officers.