NAIROBI: Police fired teargas at opposition supporters who rallied in Kenya’s capital Nairobi on Monday calling for the sacking of election board officials they blame for August’s botched presidential vote.
Officers also clashed with crowds and fired teargas in the western opposition stronghold of Kisumu, forcing businesses to close, a Reuters witness said. Local media reported scattered protests in other western towns and the port city of Mombasa.
Kenya is due to re-run its vote on Oct. 26 after the Supreme Court voided the Aug. 8 election due to irregularities. The court criticized the election board on procedural grounds but did not find any individual at the board responsible. President Uhuru Kenyatta, who won the voided vote, has since traded accusations with opposition challenger Raila Odinga, raising fears of more political turmoil in the East African economic powerhouse and Western ally.
In Nairobi, police fired rounds of teargas at small groups over several hours in at least three locations in the downtown business district, Reuters reported.
After a meeting with the election board, British and U.S. diplomats condemned “inflammatory rhetoric” by politicians and said it undermined the voting authorities’ preparations for the new election.
In the first signal that Western governments might take concrete action against hate speech, a British diplomat told reporters: “Anyone who is found to be inciting or engaging in violence must be held accountable … the UK reserves right to take appropriate action which may include refusing or revoking visas.”
Politicians from the ruling party and the opposition have made fiery speeches, stoking fears that violence could take on an ethnic dimension, as in 2007, when 1,200 people were killed after a disputed election.
Kenyatta and Odinga have been sparring over proposed changes to the election system to prevent the Supreme Court from annulling the results again, raising doubts about the date of the re-run. Kenyatta said on Monday opposition supporters should accept the Supreme Court’s timeline for the new poll.
“You can’t have your cake and eat it,” he said at an event in Nairobi. “If you celebrated the court’s decision to repeat the election you must also respect the court’s decision to have (the election board) preside over the repeat election within 60 days.”
