Kenya police shoot dead two during protest — Commissioner
NAIROBI: Kenyan police shot dead two people and wounded a third when a crowd tried to storm a police station during an opposition protest against a looming presidential vote re-run, a senior official said.
Around 20 youths attempted to take over the station during an otherwise peaceful rally in the town of Bondo in the southwest county of Siaya, forcing officers to open fire, County Commissioner Josephine Onunga said by phone.
Police also used teargas to break up small demonstrations in Kenya’s three main cities - Kisumu, the capital and the port of Mombasa - defying a government ban on rallies in city centres. Hospital authorities said 20 people were injured in Kisumu, an opposition stronghold.
Kenya’s supreme court nullified the presidential election in August, citing procedural irregularities and voiding the victory of President Uhuru Kenyatta. The ruling opening the way to a repeat vote on Oct 26.
But opposition leader Raila Odinga has refused to take part, saying the re-run should not happen until wide-ranging reforms are brought in to prevent another failed vote.
The election board has said the polls will go ahead anyway, pitting Kenyatta against six other candidates, none of whom polled more than 1 per cent in August.
Odinga told Reuters that he might consider returning to the Supreme Court for clarification on whether the Oct 26 poll was legal.
“As far as we are concerned, that (original Supreme court) ruling is still valid,” Odinga said during a visit to London.
“What we are demanding is that the electoral commission should respect the Supreme Court and carry out elections in accordance with the ruling.”
He supported protesters’ right to demonstrate, he said, but has so far stopped short of calling people onto the streets himself. — Reuters