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Police defy court order, use teargas to disperse Nairobi protesters

Police lob teargas to disperse at #OccupyCBDTuesday protesters at Odeon along Tom Mboya Street in Nairobi CBD on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (Photo: Hafsa Hassan)

By Maureen Kinyanjui | Tuesday, July 2, 2024

The court also directed that the police stop using bullets and other draconian measures to quell demonstrations, which entered their second week on Thursday, June 27.

Police fire teargas at protesters along Tom Mboya Street in Nairobi CBD on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (Photo: Justine Ondieki)

Police, on Tuesday, defied a court order barring them from using tear gas to disperse protesters in Nairobi's Central Business District.

As seen by EastleighVoice, protesters had come out to demonstrate in various streets, carrying placards, whistles, and Kenyan flags.

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However, police lobbed tear gas around the Archives area, which is between Tom Mboya Street and Moi Avenue, to disperse the crowd. They also used water cannons to disperse protesters.

Last Friday, the Malindi High Court barred the National Police Service (NPS) from using water cannons, tear gas, and live ammunition against peaceful protesters.

The court also directed that the police stop using bullets and other draconian measures to quell demonstrations, which entered their second week on Thursday, June 27.

Police lob a teargas at a protester along Tom Mboya Street on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (Photo: Hafsa Hassan)

Police were also ordered to cease unnecessary arrests, abductions, detentions, harassment, intimidation, torture, and any cruel or degrading treatment of peaceful protesters.

At the same time, the police overseeing the protests were directed not to deploy brute force or any form of violence or commit any extrajudicial killings, according to the court.

The order was issued following a petition filed by former Azimio leader Raila Odinga's chief agent, Saitabao Ole Kanchory, who had sought the court's intervention following the recent nationwide Anti-Finance Bill demonstrations that claimed lives and saw hundreds of protesters incur injuries.

In his petition, Kanchory sued Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, Attorney General Justin Muturi, and Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome.