Over 300 arrested on Day One of Azimio three-day anti-govt protests

More than 300 people were arrested on the first of Azimio protests, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said on Wednesday evening.

In a statement, Prof Kindiki said most parts of the country had remained calm and peaceful.

“More than 300 people have been arrested across the country and will be charged with various offences including looting, malicious damage to property, arson, robbery with violence, assaulting law enforcement officers, among others,” Prof Kindiki said.

According to the Raila Odinga-led Azimio coalition, the top officials arrested yesterday were Mr Babu Owino (Embakasi East MP), Mr Ken Chonga (Kilifi South MP), Mr Teddy Mwambire (Kilifi Assembly Speaker), Mr Dennis Onyango (Raila’s spokesman) and Mr Maurice Ogeta (Raila’s bodyguard).

Prof Kindiki said the protests were only in a few places.

On the planned protests on the second day, which Azimio said would begin in the morning and end at 5pm, Prof Kindiki said: “The security agencies remain alert throughout and will increase the operational capabilities tomorrow [today] and the days ahead, to ensure that normalcy is maintained and the country does not slide into anarchy.”

Yesterday, police used undercover techniques and aerial surveillance to prevent rallies and crowd formation at the start of the opposition’s three-day protests, which left several dead, scores injured and others arrested in various counties.

‘Nation’ understands that officers were given clear instructions to avoid being overpowered by protesters. This was to be achieved by deploying large numbers of plain-clothes officers so that, according to sources, they could blend in with the crowds and make as many arrests as possible.

Those seen by ‘Nation’ in Nairobi were travelling in Subaru and police cars, some with their faces covered by balaclavas to conceal their identities. Security was tightened around the CBD, with a number of police and National Youth Service (NYS) officers taking up strategic positions in the city, while those in plain-clothes moved around in vehicles, making arrests as most businesses remained closed throughout the day.

Also read: Azimio's maandamano: Here is what we know so far

Hundreds of protesters who gathered at 8am along Joseph Kang'ethe Road in Woodley, Kibera, armed with stones and slingshots and chanting pro-Azimio songs, were dispersed by police in full riot gear, tear gas canisters and water cannons.

At Kamukunji and Jacaranda grounds, two of the designated venues for the Azimio leader's pre-protest rally, anti-riot police cordoned off the area and kept back youths who tried to enter.

One protester was shot in the stomach as officers engaged the youth in running battles in Kamukunji, while officers in civilian clothes drove to the Jacaranda site to prevent a crowd from forming after protesters overpowered the officers who had been deployed earlier.

In Kibera, heavily armed anti-riot police battled young protesters for hours as they engaged in a cat-and-mouse chase with stones and tear gas canisters before retreating to their homes and later regrouping to find two water cannon trucks and two lorries full of anti-riot police waiting. Eventually the police managed to push the protesters back deep into the informal settlement.

At the home of former first lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta, private security guards manned her house after the government withdrew its security detail on Monday evening. However, the officers were redeployed in the evening.

In Kajiado, police officers were deployed on the streets of Kitengela town from 5am.

In Nakuru, two protesters were shot dead, one in Soko Mjinga area in Nakuru West and the other in Stima area in Nakuru West sub-county. One of the victims was shot in the head and the bullet exited through his back. Three others are receiving treatment for gunshot wounds at Nakuru Level Five Hospital.

More than ten people were arrested during the protests. An attempt by protesters to vandalise a hotel owned by Nakuru West MP Samuel Arama prompted the MP to emerge brandishing a pistol to disperse the protesters.

In Mombasa County, the Bangladesh slums in Jomvu constituency had been declared a red zone, with a huge contingent of police and General Service Unit (GSU) officers deployed to thwart the demonstrations.

Yesterday, motorists entering Mombasa Island were subjected to thorough security checks to prevent local leaders from accessing the CBD where they had planned to launch the protests.

In Kilifi County, Kilifi South MP Ken Chonga and Speaker Teddy Mwambire were arrested over anti-government protests in Mtwapa.

There were no protests in Kwale, Lamu, Taita-Taveta and Tana River counties.

In Nyanza region, there was a day of running battles between police and protesters as residents of Kisumu, Kisii, Siaya, Migori and Homa Bay heeded a call by Mr Odinga to begin three days of demonstrations.

In Kisumu, Jua Kali shanties in Kamas area were gutted by fire after police fired teargas canisters at protesters who took shelter in the garages. The fire destroyed some shops after a tear gas canister exploded.

Protesters barricaded all roads leading into the city with boulders and burning tyres.

In Homa Bay, in contrast to previous protests, police officers, together with their colleagues from the prison service, were able to prevent protesters from accessing the town centre.

In Siaya, the police stood by and watched the protests. Youths who turned up for the morning demonstrations barricaded part of the roads and lit bonfires, leaving the Siaya-Kisumu, Siaya-Nyadorera and Siaya-Ugunja highways deserted as motorists kept their vehicles off the roads.

In the North Rift, there was peace and calm in most counties in the region, apart from a foiled attempt to stage demos in Kitale town, Trans Nzoia County.

By Steve Otieno, Stanley Ngotho, Eric Mataara, Joseph Openda, Sammy Kimatu, Winnie Atieno, Anthony Kitimo, Maureen Ongala, Rushdie Oudia, Victor Rabala, George Odiwuor, Wyclife Nyaberi, Kassim Adinasi and Ruth Mbula, Evans Jaola, Titus Ominde, Oscar Kakai, Sammy Lutta and Florah Koech