NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 27 – A low turnout of demonstrators was witnessed Thursday in Nairobi’s Central Business District during anti-government protests as security agents employed new tactics to deter demonstrators from accessing the area.
The areas that had on Tuesday seen deadly clashes between police and protestors opposed to the Finance Bill, which President Ruto has since declined to assent to, experienced relative calm on Thursday.
Security agents worked round the clock to prevent any form of gathering or idling.
A spot check by Capital News indicated that, unlike last Tuesday, security agents were strategically placed in key routes and areas leading to the CBD, Parliament, and State House.
Any attempts by protestors to penetrate police defenses were met with teargas and arrests.
The protestors had threatened to march to State House, prompting security agents to heighten surveillance and security within the city.
In the Parliament area and its environs, a contingent of heavily armed security agents was deployed to prevent a repeat of Tuesday’s incident when protestors breached parliament defenses, forcing leaders to seek refuge in the basement parking.
Tuesday’s clashes left at least 20 dead as security agents struggled to prevent protestors from accessing the building.
A similar deployment was observed in the Supreme Court area, which suffered significant damage due to massive vandalism by protestors and City Hall.
Water cannons were stationed alongside police vehicles, with security agents on high alert.
In the KenCom area, anti-riot police ordered all vehicles, including Public Service Vehicles (PSVs), to clear the area in the morning hours.
Surveillance choppers patrolled the city skies as security agents, both uniformed and in civilian clothes, relayed information to their colleagues.
Public Service Vehicles were not allowed to use some routes, which remained out of bounds.
By 4 p.m., protestors had failed to achieve their objective of entering the city and marching to State House, with teargas deployed in different parts of the city.
To add more pressure on the protestors, officers from the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) were seen patrolling different parts of the city but did not engage with the protestors.
The deployment of the military to quell protests has been deemed unconstitutional by some leaders and Kenyans. The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) had filed a suit seeking to block the deployment of the military to assist the police. LSK President Faith Odhiambo argued that the deployment of KDF in town is unconstitutional, insisting the procedure for approval was merely cosmetic.
The LSK President told the court that the gazette notice should have been issued 24 hours after parliamentary approval.
“What we are seeing is Parliament and the Executive treating us to a circus to cover up. We have never seen a scenario such as this since the 1982 coup,” she said.
The low turnout has also been attributed to some influential X users advising protestors against marching to State House since it is a protected area.
Additionally, some participants in Tuesday’s protests announced that they would not join Thursday’s protests.
Cracks began to emerge on Wednesday night during a meeting of more than 100,000 participants on X-spaces, focusing on the state of the country’s economy and governance.
Speakers disagreed on the next course of action, with some urging participants to avoid marching to State House and others maintaining they would proceed without fear.
On Thursday morning, more influencers pleaded with their counterparts not to march to State House for the sake of their lives.
However those who supported the march to State House argued that the President’s decision not to assent to the Bill was “too little too late,” citing the loss of lives.
The protestors have maintained that their movement is driven by their desire for a change in the country and denied any claim.of backing from any quarter.
Source: capitalfm
