Police in
Nairobi yesterday uncharacteristically restrained themselves from beating rioters and
instead used tear gas to disperse the crowds.
The officers, drawn from regular Kenya
police, Administration Police and General Service Unit sealed off Uhuru Park as early as 5
am, making it impossible for the Katiba Watch organisers to hold their meeting.
Sources told the Sunday Standard
that more than 200 officers from various units within the force were deployed at Uhuru
Park at 5 am.
Police commissioner Brig Hussein Ali,
Nairobi police boss King’ori Mwangi and his CID counterpart Sammy Githui, patrolled
the city in a helicopter.
They relayed information to police officers
who were on the ground to disperse crowds in sections of the city where looting was going
on.
More than 150 people were arrested during
the riot and several injured as a result of jumping through fences along Harambee Avenue.
A fierce police dog descended on a young
man at Uhuru Park and bit his left leg before the officers could rescue him.
The man, who was part of the rioters who
arrived at Uhuru Park before 11 am, was rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital.
There were interesting scenes as a
contingent of policemen scared away a group of rioters at the Kenyatta Avanue-Kimathi
Street junction only for them to regroup a few metres away at the Kenyatta Avenue-Muindi
Mbingu junction. Whenever the police stopped a distance away from the rioters, the young
men would provoke them by hurling stones at them and barricading roads.
Five officers were injured in the
skirmishes. One of the officers attached to regular police was taken to Forces Memorial
after he was hit on the face with a stone.
A section of University of Nairobi
students’ union officials called the police commissioner after a 12-hour running
battle with his officers, and demanded that he withdraws policemen on the ground.
Kingori and Githui rushed to Waiyaki Way
where they met the students and came to an agreement.
"We told them to withdraw all students
on the ground before police officers could leave, and we agreed," Mwangi said.
The students demanded to be given a new
constitution before they could disperse but their union officials managed to convince them
to go back to their hostels.
However, the students regrouped and started
throwing stones at motorists along Kenyatta Avenue but Kingori and his team managed to
contain the situation.
Four students were arrested at the scene
and taken to Central Police Station.
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