Street Rage in Nairobi: Hawkers Set County Vehicle Ablaze Amid Mounting Tensions

Tensions reached a boiling point in the heart of the capital on Friday, June 13, 2025, as angry hawkers torched a Nairobi County government vehicle near Afya Centre, sparking panic and prompting a swift police response. 

In scenes reminiscent of a city on edge, video footage circulating online showed a county vehicle engulfed in flames, turned upside down as chaos erupted on Moi Avenue. Police were forced to deploy teargas canisters to disperse the enraged crowd, turning a normal afternoon in the city into a battlefield. 

Eyewitnesses claim the clash followed a heated standoff between the hawkers and Nairobi City County enforcement officers, the infamous kanjo. According to unconfirmed reports, the hawkers accused the officers of constant harassment, seizure of goods, and extortion, frustrations that finally exploded into violence. 

Though no casualties were immediately reported, the event marked a sharp escalation in the hawker-kanjo wars that have long plagued the city. Typically, these encounters involve cat-and-mouse chases through the alleys of the CBD, not full-blown riots or burned vehicles. 

This eruption of violence came barely 24 hours after another wave of civil unrest rocked the capital. On Thursday, June 12, hundreds of youth flooded the streets in protest over the controversial death of popular online personality Albert Ojwang while in police custody. 

Marching through City Hall, Jeevanjee Gardens, and Parliament Road, the protestors demanded the resignation of Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat, accusing authorities of a cover-up. Many draped in Kenyan flags and holding twigs and placards, the demonstrators brought parts of the city to a halt, just as the 2025/2026 Budget was set to be read by Treasury CS John Mbadi. 

The back-to-back protests paint a worrying picture: a city simmering with anger, where citizens no longer fear confrontation, whether with police or county officials. 

As pressure mounts on county authorities and the national government alike, Nairobians are beginning to ask hard questions: 

How long can the tension between hawkers and county officers go unresolved? 

Is the government doing enough to restore trust after high-profile custodial deaths? 

What happens when the streets lose faith in the system altogether? 

For now, the fire near Afya Centre has been extinguished, but the embers of public frustration are far from cooled. 

Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.