The air in Kajiado is thick with the stinging scent of teargas and the undeniable stench of repression. In a chilling pivot towards authoritarianism, President William Ruto’s administration is deploying police brutality to silence opposition, mirroring the iron-fisted tactics of Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni.

The events in Kitengela on February 15, 2026, were not an isolated skirmish; they were a synchronized assault on democracy. When Edwin Sifuna, the fiery Secretary-General of the ODM, rose to speak to a mammoth crowd, he was met not with political debate, but with a barrage of teargas canisters lobbed directly into the convocation. This was a calculated attempt to disperse, demoralize, and danger citizens exercising their constitutional rights.

The "Nairobi Sierra" Squad

Darker details are emerging about the machinery behind these attacks. Opposition intelligence points to the existence of a shadowy special police unit dubbed "Nairobi Sierra," tasked specifically with disrupting opposition gatherings. This clandestine group operates outside standard crowd control protocols, aiming to inflict harm rather than maintain order. Their fingerprints were all over the Kitengela chaos and the recent assault on Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s entourage in Nyeri.

A dossier submitted to the National Security Advisory Council details 23 separate incidents of state-sponsored violence between November 2024 and January 2026. From Limuru to Kakamega, the pattern is identical: unprovoked police aggression, the use of live ammunition, and the mobilization of hired goons to create a pretext for crackdown.

• Targeting the Big Men: The regime is systematically going after high-profile figures. Gachagua, now an outcast in his own government, faced teargas and live bullets at a church service in Othaya, a desecration of sanctuary that shocked the nation.
• Museveni's Playbook: The parallels with Uganda are stark. Just as Museveni suffocates Kizza Besigye and Bobi Wine with perpetual harassment, Ruto is using the state apparatus to cripple his critics before the next election cycle.
• The Civil Resistance: Despite the intimidation, the opposition remains defiant. Sifuna and his brigade have vowed to continue their "tussles" with the regime, invoking the spirit of Nelson Mandela.

A Constitution Under Siege

This crackdown signals a dangerous regression for Kenya, a nation that once prided itself as a beacon of democracy in East Africa. The police, sworn to protect and serve, have been weaponized into a partisan militia. The brutality is not just about silencing one rally; it is about sending a message to every Kenyan: dissent will come at a physical cost.

As the teargas settles, the political temperature is reaching a boiling point. The government's strategy of "rule by force" is alienating the very hustlers it claimed to represent. If the "Nairobi Sierra" continues its operations unchecked, Kenya risks sliding into the same prolonged civil strife that has plagued its neighbors.

President Ruto is playing a dangerous game. By closing the space for peaceful assembly, he is pushing the opposition into a corner where the only option left may be radical resistance. The shadow of the dictator is looming large over the State House.