Hooded goons armed with crude weapons stormed Kapsabet in Nandi County to block a highly hyped Gen Z demonstration against the county government.

Scores of people were injured as the assailants descended on anyone suspected of supporting the protest that had been advertised on X.

Hundreds of masked men wearing helmets took positions at all entry points to the town in anticipation of the march by young people demanding that devolved resources be accounted for.

It was a cat-and-mouse game between planners of the protest and the goons as they broke up any gatherings of people discussing the demos.

Tension engulfed Kapsabet, with business owners fearing possible looting hurriedly closing down their premises after the goons stormed the streets.

Police in three vehicles trailed the goons as boda boda operators took off and regrouped, preparing for a possible confrontation.

Former Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter was expected to address residents during the demonstration about what he said were failures of the Nandi County government.

Vehicles were searched by the goons, who were shouting to the effect that they were looking for Keter and determined to block him and his entourage from entering Kapsabet.

The outspoken politician had on Monday held an impromptu meet-the-people tour of three constituencies in Nandi County. He also appeared in an X Spaces public engagement and highlighted several development failures by the national government and counties.

He addressed meetings in Nandi Hills, Chesumei and Mosop constituencies asking residents to rise up and start demanding “what is rightfully theirs”.

At Kapsabet’s Showground area, young people holding a meeting to chart the protest route were mercilessly beaten by the goons as the co-convener of the march, Mark Kirwa, and his group melted into the sprawling estate.

Kirwa contested the Nandi gubernatorial seat on a Jubilee ticket in 2022 and garnred 21,000 votes.

Conveners of the demonstrations had planned to “evict” the county government from a national government building and urge them to move to a county building that is incomplete.