Uncertainty, violence, as police disperse rioters trying to foil Kenya’s election

Mourice Muhoozi

Kenya’s police have today morning used lethal measures, like spraying teargas and firing live bullets to disperse enraged and angry rioters who were trying to foil the country’s repeat presidential election.

The police seriously engaged rioters in the capital Nairobi and some western towns of the country where rioters blocked all the roads and used barricades to seal off entrances to the poling stations from public access.

In the crossfire, several policemen sustained minor injuries as a result of the rocks, pelted at them. Some rioters were also seriously injured.

In the slums of the capital, like Kibera and other opposition strong holds in kisumu, many electoral stations were almost empty at about 10:00 am, with a very low voter turn up.

Even in Uhuru Kenyattta’s strong holds, many voters boycotted the polls

Supporters of Kenya’s opposition leader Mr. Raila Odinga burned tires and closed roads in kibera, a Nairobi suburb yesterday October 25th, 2017, protesting today’s repeat presidential election.

In a televised interview on Wednesday at 5:30 pm, Odinga urged people to vote, but also said that the rights of those who do not want to vote are protected by the law. He called upon his supporters to boycott the vote, saying it won’t be credible.

He also vowed to turn his political coalition (NASA) into a resistance movement that will be instrumental in ensuring president Uhuru Kenyatta’s exit from Kenya’s political landscape.

Amid fears of violence, the country’s chief justice David Maraga firmly asserted that the vote must be held, citing the inadequacy of the supreme court judges to deliver a ruling on the petition that sought to postpone the vote.

This came at a point when unknown gunmen shot and seriously injured the deputy chief Justice’s driver on Tuesday October 24th, 2017. As a result, Justice Philomena Mwiru did not attend the last hearing of the petition.

The electoral officials also assured Kenyans that the vote must be conducted on Thursday, even when the countrty’s electoral chairman Mr. Wafula Chebuka said he would not guarantee the election will be credible.