Security alert as tension grips city
Standard Team
Police sealed off Uhuru Park yesterday and stationed
themselves strategically on street corners as tension gripped Nairobi in the wake of
Saturdays day-long violence.
Over in Kisumu tension also remained high as the man who
was shot by police on Saturday evening succumbed to his injuries at hospital and as
traders counted their losses.
Most Nairobians who witnessed the violence or followed it
on their TV screens, expressed anxiety about Wednesdays Saba Saba (July 7) rally
called by agitators for a new constitutional dispensation.
Violence erupted in Nairobi mid-morning on Saturday as the
Katiba Watch lobby, politicians and opposition MPs, clashed with police who outlawed a
rally called to press for constitutional reform.
Kisumu, unlike Nairobi, had been peaceful during the day,
but erupted into violence late in the evening as demonstrating youths broke into shops to
loot and burn.
An estimated 700 officers drawn from the crack
para-military General Service Unit, regular and Administration Police were deployed to
keep watch over different parts of Nairobi.
Similarly hundreds of police patrolled Kisumus
streets as residents struggled to come to grips with the injuries suffered and business
lost in the chaos of the previous day.
Saturday saw the largest assembly of anti-riot police seen
in recent years as the force displayed its brawn. There were more than 20 Land Cruisers
and 10 lorries assembled at the park to ferry officers to several spots in Nairobi.
The park was cordoned off and patrolled by armed police on
horseback and on foot to keep off organisers of the banned rally.
And yesterday, the park, which is popular for family
outings on Sundays, was a no go zone area as families seeking to picnic were turned away
by police on horseback.
No amount of pleading by several couples would make the
helmeted police relent and families had to turn back. Nairobi police chief Kingori
Mwangi called off the operation at 3.30pm.
Armed with anti-riot gear, the officers spent Saturday
night at the Park following suspicion that Katiba Watch would attempt to hold an illegal
meeting in the dark.
Roadblocks were mounted on both sides of the drive to the
pavilion and motorists crossing through the park were turned. In the process, the police
stopped a religious crusade by Pastor John Muirus Kuna Nuru Gizani (Theres
Light in the Dark) faith.
A member of Pastor Muirus organisation said:
"They said they do not want anyone to enter the park. But I dont know why they
are keeping away Gods people."
He said they had planned to mount a public address system
in the wee hours of yesterday but were told politicians could use their equipment to
address an illegal rally.
"Intelligence information indicates some people have
plotted to disturb peace in the city centre. We believe looters may take advantage of the
situation," a senior police officer told the East African Standard.
The officer was heard issuing instructions that police
closely monitor some residential estates, including Kibera slums and Dandora. It was
feared that youths from those areas would march onto the city and cause chaos, he said.
On Saturday, rioting mobs battled police in running
battles, lit bonfires on city streets and broke into shops before they were dispersed.
By yesterday morning, police and council workers had
cleared many of the overturned telephone booths and large boulders placed on the streets
by rioters.
Employees of the Kenya Charity Sweepstake went round
collecting some of their damaged booths and putting back those that were left unscathed.
The booths had been used to barricade roads.
A truck-load of GSU officers spent the better part of
yesterday on standby at Police Headquarters. |