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Protest rally
put off
Story by NATION Team
Publication Date: 1/3/2008
The Orange Democratic Movement has put off its protest rally to
tomorrow after hours of running battles with the police in
Nairobi.
Three people have been reported dead, a church and two petrol
stations set ablaze and five cars torched in the chaos visited on
the capital city.
A team of top leaders from the party aborted their march to the
rally planned for Uhuru Park after a contingent of riot police
blocked their way at Hurlingham area, about two kilometres away.
The party had earlier announced that their next protest rally will
be on Tuesday next week, but later changed the date to tomorrow.
The leaders in the march included Musalia Mudavadi, William Ruto,
Najib Balala, Charity Ngilu, Anyang’ Nyong’o among others. Their
presidential candidate, Mr Raila Odinga was not in the march.
The AIC church in Kibera was torched while a petrol station and
five cars have been set ablaze along the city’s Juja road. Another
petrol station was set ablaze near Adams Arcade. Key highways into
the central business district remain more or less closed as police
battle protestors.
Uhuru Park, the venue of the rally called by Mr Odinga, was
cordoned off by hundreds of paramilitary policemen at the crack of
dawn.
Virtually no business is taking place in the city as offices and
premises that had opened earlier have now closed.
Scores of youths who attempted to get into the city from Kibera
slums through Ngong road and Mbagathi Way were repulsed. A similar
group was blocked along Thika road and Waiyaki Way. A stand-off
between police and protestors has been reported along Jogoo road
while on Mombasa road motorists are being blocked by police from
driving into the city.
The ODM leaders met with South Africa’s Bishop Desmond Tutu in the
morning and the cleric is later expected to meet with President
Kibaki.
Bishop Tutu is in Kenya in help arbitrate between President Kibaki
and Mr Odinga’s teams.
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