Kenyan immigration officials have deported a Zimbabwean constitutional lawyer, accusing him of trying to stir up a foreign-funded campaign to destabilise the government through fresh street protests.
Brian Kagoro, 51, was declared persona non grata and removed from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Sunday night after an interrogation uncovered what officials described as a well-organised political network funded by international donors.
Authorities said a six-month investigation tracked Kagoro across three visits to Nairobi last year, during which he is alleged to have promised in private meetings to raise $1.2 million (Sh150 million) for activist projects.
The move comes after Kenya’s top security bodies decided that foreign civil activists would no longer be allowed to get involved in political activities in the country.
A senior security official involved in Kagoro’s deportation, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Star.
“Should foreigners come with sinister political motives, we will deny them entry or track and deport them to their country of origin.”
It’s alleged that the money was meant to tap into economic frustrations and kickstart the Gen Z protests that rocked the government in 2024.
Protesters, however, insist there was no foreign involvement and that the demonstrations were entirely homegrown.
Those protests, which forced President William Ruto to scrap an unpopular finance bill, have left authorities on high alert for any coordination between foreign players and local organisers.
“We have evidence, gathered painstakingly over the last six months, establishing a deliberate strategy to manufacture civil unrest.”
Kagoro denied the allegations during questioning, saying his visit to Kenya was for a family event and a speaking engagement on “critical minerals and artificial intelligence.”
He admitted to contacting Kenyan activists but rejected claims that he was coordinating anything political.
Security officials, however, said his public appearances, including attending a Judiciary Accountability Report launch in December and a technology innovators’ forum in April, offered networking opportunities that advanced what they described as his operational objectives.
Investigators have pointed to the Open Society Foundations, the philanthropic network set up by billionaire George Soros, as backing Kagoro’s activities across Africa.
He is also accused of taking part in encrypted WhatsApp channels and is reportedly under investigation for allegedly stirring election-related unrest in Tanzania, though Kenyan authorities have not shared details on those claims.
Kagoro’s deportation ends a two-decade presence in Nairobi, where he had become a key behind-the-scenes figure in East Africa’s democracy ecosystem.
A co-founder of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, he moved to Kenya in the mid-2000s as Nairobi grew into a hub for governance work and international donor operations.
Unlike frontline protesters, Kagoro operated mostly out of the spotlight holding strategy sessions, making introductions, and turning international funding into local political capacity.
Colleagues call him an “intellectual anchor,” while critics describe him as influential without accountability.
His low public profile, marked by rare media appearances and no formal institutional role, let him move between formal seminars at hotels and conference centres and the informal networks where protest logistics are organised.
Observers say that ambiguity gave him operational cover and kept scrutiny to a minimum.
Officials added that months of surveillance and investigation went into monitoring his activities before he was stopped at the airport.
