Protests rock Nairobi over death of teacher in police custody

Several properties in the Nairobi Central Business District were damaged by goons who infiltrated street protests against murder of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang.

The groups protesting against Ojwang’s killing demanded the resignation of Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat, the complainant in the case against the late.

The late Ojwang died while in police custody. He was arrested in Homa Bay County and transferred to Nairobi Central Police Station.

The protests caused tension in the city as the government dispatched anti-riot police officers to quell the situation.

Businesses were closed as shop owners sought to avoid the risk of losing valuable items to violent protest groups.

During the demonstrations, two vehicles which were parked around the Nairobi Cinema area were torched as demonstrators attempted to access Parliament where CS Mbadi was reading Budget estimates.

The businesses that were destroyed include the ones along Ronald Ngala Street, Tom Mboya Street, Moi Avenue, Kenyatta Avenue, Parliament Road, City Hall Way, Muindi Mbingu Street, Koinange Street, as well as Haile Selassie Avenue.

The recently installed dustbins by the Nairobi County Government were among the property destroyed.

The dustbins, which were installed last month across the CBD, were meant to keep the capital clean after months of uproar among Kenyans and a section of leaders who complained of a dirty city.

The sleek black bins bearing Sakaja’s slogan, let's make Nairobi clean, were torn down and the pieces were spread across the roads in the city.

According to Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, the initiative was one of the plans that his government had put in place to maintain the city’s cleanliness following a coordinated clean-up exercise led by the county’s Green Army under the Green Nairobi Department.

“Cleanliness is a collective responsibility. As the Green Army continues with their commendable efforts, let’s also play our part by not littering. We are beginning this project in the CBD and will move into residential estates in the next phase,” Governor Sakaja said during the installation.

City Hall was most affected during the anti-government demonstrations, which were held in June last yea,r when a section of the governor’s office was set on fire.

The demonstrations come amid calls across the country for the arrest and arraignment of Mr Lagat.

The opposition side issued a 24-hour ultimatum on Wednesday for Mr Lagat to resign and allow investigations to continue without any interference.