Huge Destructions As Anti-Government Protest Turns Violent in Kenya

Opposition protesters Tuesday, set fire to a truck following failure to open the container it was transporting, during clashes in the Kibera slum of the capital Nairobi, Kenya.

Police in Kenya clashed with anti-government protesters Tuesday in the capital, Nairobi, during a fresh round of demonstrations called by the opposition leader.

Opposition lawmakers marched to the president’s office, in the central business district, to present a petition. Police dispersed them with tear gas.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagu “told us we know where to find them. We do. We went there and instead met the police. Cowards!” Sen. Edwin Sifuna, who represents Nairobi County, said.

Protesters who turned up in the morning to erect barricades on major roads around the city threw stones at police, who responded with tear gas. A bus and a cargo truck were torched.

The business was paralyzed in Kisumu County, an opposition stronghold, as police clashed with protesters.

The opposition is calling for action to tackle the cost of living and reforms to the electoral commission that oversaw the election won by President William Ruto last year.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga, a former prime minister of Kenya, rejected the government’s position that Tuesday’s protests were illegal and urged his supporters to turn up in large numbers. (AP)
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