KENYA: Police teargas protesters in opposition stronghold

Scores of protesters in the opposition stronghold of Kisumu in Kenya were teargassed by police after most of them had refused to disperse moments after they were addressed by the county governor.

The attack by cops is coming a day after opposition leader Raila Odinga, announced his withdrawal from a repeat presidential vote scheduled for Oct. 26, citing concerns over fairness.

Speaking on Tuesday after announcing his decision to pull-out of the re-run scheduled for 26 October Odinga said; “We have come to the conclusion that there is no intention on the part of the IEBC [electoral commission] to undertake any changes to its operations and personnel… All indications are that the election scheduled for 26 October will be worse than the previous one.

Read also: Kenya’s opposition leader pulls-out of presidential re-run

As a result, he said, “considering the interests of the people of Kenya, the region and the world at large” it was best that he withdrew from the race.

However, President Uhuru Kenyatta while speaking at a rally in Voi said; “We have no problem going back to elections. We are sure we will get more votes than the last time.

“We are also telling him it is the people’s right to choose their leader. It is their sovereign right to choose their leader of choice,” he added.

Only yesterday, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights revealed that no less than 37 Kenyan’s including a six-month old girl ‘clobbered’ by security agents have lost their lives in the protests that followed the announcement of the last elections result.

 

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