Businesses in Homa Bay town shut their doors and matatu operators withdrew services on Friday morning after youths protested the overnight arrest of Kassim Abdi Sebo, a local ODM youth leader police have described as a “chief goon” linked to violence around the August Linda Mwananchi rally.
Police arrest Sebo on an assault warrant
Police and Directorate of Criminal Investigations officers arrested Sebo shortly after 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 8, at the Homa Bay bus stage while executing a warrant issued by the Homa Bay Law Courts on August 14. According to an occurrence book report, the warrant relates to an alleged offence of assault causing actual bodily harm contrary to Section 251 of the Penal Code.
The operation was led by Homa Bay County Police Commander Lawrence Koilem.
Seven others detained over alleged obstruction
Seven other men were detained for allegedly obstructing the arrest: Achiando Victor Odhiambo, 26; Isaac Masika Muliro, 30; Oyege Moses Geoffrey, 27; Geoffrey Njore, 25; Odhiambo Wesley Arnold, 26; Joseph Kobila, 28; and Alfred Nyagiro Aliwa, 26. All eight suspects remained in custody pending arraignment.
Road barricades disrupt transport and businesses
Angry youths responded by lighting bonfires and barricading roads in the town on Thursday night, demanding the immediate release of Sebo and the others. The unrest continued into Friday, with residents forced to walk long distances after vehicles on the Kisumu–Homa Bay road turned back near Nyalkinyi and those on the Migori route halted at the Mbita junction.
Traders closed premises amid fears of further disruption, while matatu operators suspended services. Police later restored order with a heavy deployment; local reports said some youths fled when officers intervened and that businesspeople helped calm the situation.
Police interest after the Linda Mwananchi violence
The arrest follows months of police interest in Sebo over the August 16 Linda Mwananchi events in Homa Bay. Violence that day, as the opposition convoy moved through the county, left a police officer dead, dozens injured—reports cited around 46 casualties, including gunshot wounds—and multiple vehicles torched, among them a media vehicle.
Police earlier arrested dozens of suspected gang members found with crude weapons and, in mid-August, publicly ordered Sebo to surrender to DCI headquarters in connection with the mayhem. He has also been described in local reporting as a leader of the Hammer Boys group and as an alleged coordinator of attacks on the rally team that included Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, Siaya Governor James Orengo and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino.
Unproven political claims and reactions
Some accounts have alleged political links between Sebo and senior figures in the area, including Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga, though no formal charges on those claims have been made public and they remain unproven. Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo commented on the latest unrest, writing that the situation in Homa Bay was “sad” and that “it was planted.
It took root. It germinated.
It is producing fruit.”
Suspects await court appearance
The eight suspects are expected in court as investigations into both the assault warrant and the broader August violence continue.