Kisumu activists have called off planned protests during the Saba Saba commemorations due to fears of violence and criminal infiltration.Human rights defenders like Willy Otiende and Brenda Beverly expressed concerns about the government's failure to ensure public safety, citing reports of armed gangs threatening participants.Otiende highlighted the constitutional right to peaceful assembly but stressed that citizens cannot risk their lives for this right.He criticized the government's lack of action on enforced disappearances and urged accountability.Beverly linked the absence of protests to rising gender-based violence, demanding concrete measures to protect victims.

Residents like Phelister Otuma called for continued commemoration of Saba Saba as a reminder of Kenya's democratic struggles, while urging faster investigations into missing persons.Activists argue the calm reflects fear, not satisfaction, and emphasize the need for safe spaces to exercise democratic freedoms.The article underscores tensions between civic engagement and state security failures, with calls for political reform ahead of the 2027 elections.