Kenyan president starts second term
As he’s sworn in, police open fire on demonstrators.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term on Tuesday amid thun- derous applause of supporters even as pro-government forces fired on protesters angered by the contentious election process that kept him in power.
The inauguration capped an incredibly fraught few months for Kenya that saw an election canceled, weeks of unrest, an opposition boycott and finally a new election that gave Kenyatta 98 percent of the vote, but with a turn- out of less than 40 percent.
Even as Kenyatta was sworn in, police across town opened fire on opposition demonstrators, with reports of at least one dead.
Taking the oath on the same Bible used by his father — Kenya’s first president, Jomo Kenyatta in 1964 — the capacity crowd erupted into cheers in the 60,000 seat Kasarani Stadium decked out in the red and gold of Kenyatta’s party.
Neighboring heads of state looked on, including the lead- ers of Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.
So many people tried to push into the stadium for the event that police had to fire tear gas outside the venue to control the crowd.
“This is the day that we have been waiting for. It’s finally here. Our God had done this for us. The elec- tions have tormented and almost destroyed our coun- try. We hope that this will be the beginning of a new chapter,” said 30-year-old busi- nessman Marvin Muriithi Munyua. “Let’s now focus in our country.”
The extended election season stretching from August until the inauguration exacerbated the deep divisions.
Support for Kenyatta and his opponent, Raila Odinga, broke along on ethnic lines.
The business community also backed Odinga while many in more marginalized regions turned to Odinga to stem the endemic corrup- tion in the country.
Odi n ga attempted to stage a parallel prayer rally during the inauguration for those killed during the election-related violence. Some 70 people are estimated to have died in confrontations with police over the past few months.
The government declared the rally illegal, and blocked the roads leading to the Jacaranda grounds, preventing it from taking place.
Residents of the area said police used live fire to disperse protesters. The residents held up spent cartridges as evidence that gun- fire was used. At least one body was seen.
The crowd chanted “Uhuru must go” and “Thief.”