Kenya presidential inauguration: Police fire tear gas to disperse crowd

Kenya police fired tear gas to disperse a crowed of thousands of people trying to force their way into the stadium in the capital, Nairobi to attend the inauguration of President Uhuru Kenyatta.

According to local media reports, three people have been shot by the police.

Security forces patrolled the capital in preparation for President Kenyatta’s inauguration and police sealed off an area where the opposition held a rally.

According to AllAfrica website the police, wearing riot gear, threw teargas into residential home and beat up some members of the crowd.

Thousands of Kenyans arrived at Nairobi’s Kasarani Stadium to watch the inauguration of President Kenyatta on Tuesday.

Kenyatta won a second five-year term on October. 26 in a repeat presidential election boycotted by opposition leader Raila Odinga, who said it would not be free and fair. The Supreme Court nullified the first presidential election, in August, over irregularities.

The extended election season has divided Kenya, a Western ally in a volatile region, and blunted growth in East Africa’s richest economy.

Supporters of Kenyatta who won with 98 percent of the vote after Odinga’s boycott dressed in vibrant red and yellow outfits, the colours of his Jubilee party, blew whistles, sang choruses and chanted party slogans as they took their seats in the packed stadium.

“The inauguration to me is something amazing because we have been waiting for it and despite we had felt like something wrong was happening in the country, now we are happy and I know everyone is sober. We are all happy about this and we are very much excited and welcome it warmly,” said one of Kenyetta’s supporter, Mburu Kariuki.

The opposition planned to hold a prayer meeting in the capital on Tuesday, saying it wanted to commemorate the lives of Odinga supporters killed during confrontations with the security forces over the election period.

More than 70 people have been killed in political violence this election season, mostly by the police.

About 20 heads of state had been expected to attend the inauguration, including French President Emmanuel Macron. Mr Macron is currently on a three-day tour of west Africa.