Violent start to #EndFemicideKe demos as police lob tear gas at peaceful protesters
By Moraa Obiria, Ndubi Moturi and Jackson Ngari
Protesters taking part in #EndFemicideKe demos in the Nairobi CBD were forced to take to their heels after police lobbed tear gas cannisters at them.
Several people, including journalists, are reported injured as others were arrested following the Tuesday demos.
On International Human Rights Day, peaceful protesters in Nairobi gathered for the #EndFemicide march, marking the conclusion of the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence. The demonstration brought together women, human rights activists, and allies to raise awareness about the recent surge in femicide cases across the country.
However, despite the peaceful nature of the protest, police responded with tear gas, violent dispersal tactics and unlawful arrests.
The march was set to start at Jeevanjee Gardens and weave through the city to Judiciary headquarters where the demonstrators were to make their case against rising cases of femicide in the country.
Police turn protest violent
The protesters had gathered at Jeevanjee by 9am but by 10am, police had moved in to scatter the crowd with tear gas just as the march was about to begin.
They dispersed and re-converged at Stewart Lane, but were teargassed again. Some protesters were also arrested.
Most businesses along Muindi Mbingu Street and Kenyatta Avenue closed as the police engaged the protestors in running battles.
In Nyeri, unlike Nairobi, anti-femicide protesters who marched across the town were escorted by police to the Deputy County Commissioner's office. The group, which consisted of women, the deaf, students from Karatina University and parents of children living with disabilities, said that they did not feel safe in society.
Margaret Wanjiru, a second-year student at Karatina University, said: "We are here because our cries have been ignored for too long. As teen mothers we face violence, stigma and abandonment yet we are expected to stay silent. Enough is Enough."
This is the second anti-femicide march this year. The first was held on January 27 across at least 11 counties across the country. The protest, which was sparked by a series of gruesome murders across the country, was not disrupted by police.
