At least 11 dead as post-election unrest erupts in Kenya

BY

-

Sat, 12 Aug 2017 - 10:10 GMT

BY

Sat, 12 Aug 2017 - 10:10 GMT

Policemen chase protesters in Kisumu, Kenya August 11, 2017. © 2017 Baz Ratner /Reuters

Policemen chase protesters in Kisumu, Kenya August 11, 2017. © 2017 Baz Ratner /Reuters

NEW YORK - 13 August 2017: Kenyan police have killed at least 11 people in a crackdown on protests as anger at the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta erupted in the western city of Kisumu and slums surrounding the capital, the Daily Mail quoted officials and witnesses as saying on Saturday.

However, the NASA opposition coalition, led by four-time presidential hopeful Raila Odinga, put the death toll at more than 100, including 10 children, but did not provide evidence. Odinga has rejected the poll and its result as "massive" fraud.

The eruption of violence has revived memories of a decade ago, when Odinga, now 72, lost an election in controversial circumstances that sparked a wave of political and ethnic unrest in which 1,200 people were killed and 600,000 displaced.

Kofi Annan, the former UN head who mediated during that crisis, on Saturday issued a statement warning Kenya's leaders to "be careful with their rhetoric and actions in this tense atmosphere".

Top Odinga lieutenant Johnson Muthama said police had been packing corpses into body bags and dumping them, remarks likely to exacerbate the tensions that followed Friday night's official announcement that Kenyatta had won, with 54.3 percent of votes.

Mwenda Njeka, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said the opposition claims were "hogwash".

Comments

0

Leave a Comment

Be Social