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Summary
· The Communications Authority of Kenya has sought to prevent television stations from broadcasting the demonstrations live, but the move was blocked by the High Court.
Police fired tear gas to disperse
anti-government protests on Monday over the high cost of living, after the
opposition vowed demonstrations would go ahead despite a police ban.
Security was tight, with riot police
stationed at strategic points in Nairobi and patrolling the streets, while many
shops were shut and train services from the capital's outskirts into the
central business district were suspended.
A protester gestures on a street
during a mass rally called by the opposition leader Raila Odinga who claims the
last Kenyan presidential election was stolen from him and blames the government
for the hike of living costs in Kibera, Nairobi, on March 27, 2023. PHOTO/AFP
Veteran opposition leader Raila
Odinga has urged people to take to the streets every Monday and Thursday, even
after protests a week ago turned violent and paralysed parts of Nairobi.
Police clashed with stone-throwing
demonstrators in Nairobi's largest slum Kibera, where protesters set tyres on
fire, defying a warning by the Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome who
said Sunday that the rallies were "illegal" and would be banned.
A protester shows an empty pot on
the street during a mass rally called by the opposition leader Raila Odinga who
claims the last Kenyan presidential election was stolen from him and blames the
government for the hike of living costs in Kibera, Nairobi on March 27, 2023.
PHOTO/AFP
The situation was calmer elsewhere
in the city, with a heavy police presence in neighbourhoods where protests had
taken place last week.
During last Monday's clashes in
Nairobi and opposition strongholds in western Kenya, a university student was
killed by police fire while 31 officers were injured as running battles erupted
between riot police and demonstrators.
More than 200 people were arrested,
including several senior opposition politicians, while protesters -- as well as
Odinga's own motorcade -- were hit with tear gas and water cannon.
'Mother of all demonstrations'
It was the first major outbreak of political unrest since President William
Ruto took office more than six months ago after defeating Odinga in an election
his rival claims was "stolen".
A protester throws back a teargas
canister towards police officers on the street during a mass rally called by
the opposition leader Raila Odinga who claims the last Kenyan presidential
election was stolen from him and blames the government for the hike of living
costs in Kibera, Nairobi on March 27, 2023. PHOTO/AFP
Despite the police ban, Odinga
called Sunday on Kenyans to join what he has described as "the mother of
all demonstrations".
"I want to tell Mr Ruto and the
IG Koome that we are not going to be intimidated," he said. "We are
not going to fear tear gas and police."
Odinga also accused Deputy President
Rigathi Gachagua of orchestrating an operation to cause "mayhem" at
Monday's rallies.
Nairobi residents were wary after
the previous violence.
"I may have to close too
because I have seen most of my neighbours are closed," said Mercy Wangare,
an Mpesa (mobile money) kiosk attendant at an electronics shop.
"I am just weighing the
situation before I decide because the sight of these policemen patrolling
around is a sign that it may not end up well."
The Communications Authority of
Kenya has sought to prevent television stations from broadcasting the
demonstrations live, but the move was blocked by the High Court.
'Stop terrorising the country'
Ruto, who is currently on a four-day trip to Germany and Belgium, has urged his
rival to halt the action.
"I am telling Raila Odinga that
if he has a problem with me, he should face me and stop terrorising the
country," he said Thursday.
"Stop paralysing the businesses
of mama mboga, matatu and other Kenyans," he said, referring to women
stallholders and private minibus operators.
Many Kenyans are struggling to put
food on the table, battling high prices for basic goods as well as a plunging
local currency and a record drought that has left millions hungry.
"If the leaders don't talk, it
is us who are affected. They are rich people, it is who will sleep
hungry," motorcycle taxi driver Collins Kibe told AFP.
During the election campaign, Ruto
portrayed himself as champion of the downtrodden and vowed to improve the lot
of ordinary Kenyans.
But critics say he has broken
several campaign promises and has removed subsidies for fuel and maize flour --
a dietary staple.
Demonstrators in Kibera, an Odinga
stronghold, on Monday banged empty pots and pans as they faced off against
police, chanting "we don't have maize flour".
Kenya's energy regulatory body has
also announced a hike in electricity prices from April, despite Ruto insisting
in January there would be no such increase.
Last week's protests proved costly,
with Gachagua saying the country had lost at least $15 million.
A Kenyan Police officer fires
teargas to protesters in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 20, 2023. PHOTO/AFP
Police said Friday they had launched
a manhunt for suspects involved in last week's riots, and published photographs
showing people throwing rocks at police, burning tyres and vandalising
property.
But an AFP Fact
Check investigation found that a number of the photographs were old and
unrelated to Monday's events.
And on Saturday, a red-faced
Directorate of Criminal Investigations issued an apology on Twitter for what it
said was a "mix-up of images".
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