Kenyan immigration officials deported a Zimbabwean constitutional lawyer for allegedly orchestrating a foreign-funded operation to destabilise the government through renewed street protests. Security sources said the funds were intended to capitalise on economic grievances and reignite the Gen Z protests that shook the government in 2024. Those protests — which forced President William Ruto to abandon unpopular finance bill — left authorities hypersensitive to coordination between foreign actors and domestic mobilisers. Kagoro’s deportation ends a two-decade presence in Nairobi that positioned him as a key behind-the-scenes figure in East Africa’s democracy ecosystem. “The activist declined to engage.”For two decades, Kagoro helped build transnational activist infrastructure — including fellowships, mentorship programmes and cross-border strategy sessions that professionalised democratic mobilisation across East Africa.

Source: The Star February 25, 2026 15:47 UTC