12th October, 2017
Kenyan Government on Thursday banned protests in city centres, warning that organisers of demonstrations would be held personally liable for any damage caused.
Internal Security Minister, Fred Matiang‘i, gave the warning amid a deepening political stand-off between the ruling party and the opposition over a presidential election re-run.
He said demonstrations have also been banned in the central business districts of the capital Nairobi, the western city of Kisumu and the coastal city of Mombasa.
Several people were injured in protests in Kenya on Wednesday, a day after opposition leader Raila Odinga announced he would quit the presidential race, in a move that plunged the country into uncharted waters.
Election officials have been locked in crisis meetings since the decision, as debate raged over what Odinga’s move could mean for a dramatic election saga that saw President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Aug. 8 victory annulled by the Supreme Court.
Kenyatta insists an Oct. 26 do-over must go ahead.
Longtime rival Odinga says his withdrawal legally forces election officials to begin the entire process from scratch, a move that leaves more time for his reform demands to be met.
However, the nation’s electoral commission said Wednesday it had not received formal notice of his withdrawal and regarded all original candidates as still on the slate.