(Nairobi) Clashes erupted Monday in Kenya between protesters and police during protests against inflation, including outside government offices in Nairobi, amid a political row between the president and his main opponent.
Pitched battles broke out between stone-throwing protesters and law enforcement using tear gas and water cannons in some parts of the capital and in at least one other city, AFP correspondents have noted.
Protest organizers had planned to march to State House, the presidential palace, in central Nairobi, where around 20 protesters were arrested. Among those arrested are two parliamentarians, Stewart Madzayo, Senate Minority Leader, and MP Opiyo Wandayi, both members of opponent Raila Odinga’s party.
“We came here peacefully, but they threw tear gas at us,” protester Charles Oduor said. “They lie to us every day. Where’s the cheap cornmeal they promised? Where are the youth jobs they promised? All they do is hire their friends,” the 21-year-old added.
This is the first major unrest since William Ruto was elected president in August.
In Kibera, Nairobi’s largest slum, protesters set fire to tires and police used water cannons, according to AFP journalists.
Clashes also erupted in Kisumu, western Kenya, another Raila Odinga stronghold.
“Our victory has been stolen from us and we are determined to get it back. We cannot sit idly by as life gets harder and harder. We want Raila at State House,” said Kisumu protester Kevin Ojwang.
This protest movement against inflation, which rose to 9.2% in February over one year in the East African country, was banned by the authorities on Sunday.
Kenyans are suffering from soaring prices of basic necessities, the sharp fall of the shilling against the US dollar and a record drought that has plunged millions into starvation.
Police had received two requests for demonstrations, including one from Mr. Odinga’s Azimio la Umoja party. The police dismissed it on the grounds of “public safety” and failure to meet the filing deadline.
Raila Odinga had called the protests for Monday, dubbed “Day of Destiny”, to protest the “skyrocketing” cost of living as well as the “stolen” August 9 election. William Ruto had won this very close vote and his opponent considers his government “illegitimate”.
Despite the ban, demonstrators gathered to protest the cost of living.
“Life is so hard. Look at these young men and women, we have no jobs, people are losing their jobs. That’s why we come to talk about our rights,” says Henry Juma, 26, a shoe shiner.
Leading Kenyan newspaper The Standard summed up the tension with the headline on Monday: “The day of the showdown.”
Many businesses in Nairobi were closed before the protests and some companies had asked their employees to favor telework.
The head of state had risen this weekend against calls to demonstrate from his opponent. “You are not going to threaten us with ultimatums, chaos and impunity. We will not allow it,” said William Ruto, asking Raila Odinga to act through “legal and constitutional” means.
The presidential election remains a source of conflict between the two leaders. According to the official results, Mr. Odinga lost to Mr. Ruto by some 233,000 votes, one of the narrowest margins in the country’s history, and while he was supported in this poll by the incumbent president. Uhuru Kenyatta.
The appeal brought by Raila Odinga, who was running for the fifth time at the head of the country and complained of fraud, was rejected by the Supreme Court.
