A man protests in front of burning tyres in Kisumu (Photo/The Star)
A section of Kenyans in opposition strongholds have expressed their anger in the efforts by the electoral commission to have the repeat presidential election conducted In the area despite calls by NASA to have reforms before taking part in the exercise.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga’s clarion call to his ardent supporters to only boycott the fresh elections by staying in their homes and pray for the country seem to have fallen on deaf ears in parts of Nairobi as Kibra and Mathare, Siaya,Kisumu,Migori and sections of Mombasa county.
The residents say their move to engage police officers in running battles had been provoked by forceful transportation of ballot materials into the areas while under tight security terming it as a way of disregarding their stand that no election would be conducted.
SIaya County residents took it to the streets with youth barricading area roads and ensured the polling stations were not accessible at all.
At one of the centers, Karapuli primary school in Siaya the angry youth killed a dog and hanged its carcass at the entrance of the school as they chanted anti-election slogans after erecting a billboard with resistance movement labels regardless of the heavy police contingent.
“We killed the dog and hanged it at the gate as a representation of the IEBC returning officers who have been sent here by Jubilee to conduct an election which we have insisted will not happen here. We came out because of the way the government is behaving; trying to force an election on us,” said one of the protesting youth.
In Migori,Uriri constituency MP Mark Nyamita termed the election as a Jubilee party nominations saying the country would be surprised if President Kenyatta garnered more than 2.5 Million votes.
Mr Nyamita said the boycott was going on smoothly and as opposition leaders held on Thursday, there will be peaceful civil resistance by their supporters who he noted that were ready to start ignoring use of some products.
“Our supporters are already suffering and even if we ask them to boycott some products, they will not go through any new misery. Kenyans should know that resistance movements in the world have taken over government,” said Mr Nyamita.
The situation was equally replicated in Kisumu and Homabay counties with leaders asking for a zero percent turnout in the areas.