NAIROBI: Kenyan police fired tear gas on Thursday to disperse protesters in Nairobi after dozens took to the streets in memory of demonstrators killed two years ago in anti-government rallies against tax hikes and the cost of living. Organisers had planned marches to mark the second anniversary of the unrest, when protesters breached parliament grounds before a crackdown left at least 60 people dead, according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.
A correspondent saw police fire tear gas to scatter people gathering peacefully at Nairobi's main police station after security forces detained at least six outside parliament, where they had laid flowers. Footage broadcast on Citizen TV also showed police firing tear gas on the outskirts of Nairobi. In Mombasa, dozens of marchers had earlier been escorted by security forces.
But in the capital, shops and restaurants within the central business district had remained shut as police set up roadblocks with water cannon trucks, and cordoned parliament off with razor-wire. Opposition leaders joined victims of alleged police brutality and families of slain protesters heading to parliament. — Reuters
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