Nakuru: Cops fight protesters as suspected goons steal from motorists

Police in Nakuru engaged protesters in running battles as suspected goons who had joined the demonstrations started looting from motorists along the Nakuru-Eldoret Highway on Tuesday.

The officers had to shoot in the air and fire teargas canisters at the protesters who were chanting anti-government slogans, whistling and waving placards.

The demonstrators also carried big banners bearing the portraits of three people who were shot dead during the anti-Finance Bill 2024 last week.

At some point, the demonstrators, some of whom carried the Kenyan flag while others donned attires with the Kenyan flag sang the national anthem.

The protest was peaceful as the demonstrators walked along the busy Kenyatta Avenue in the Central Business District until they got to the KFA roundabout when a group broke off and started robbing motorists on the highway.

The goons also stoned and shattered the windows of vehicles whose drivers failed to heed their orders to stop.

The move prompted the police officers who had been following the protesters to lob teargas canisters and shoot in the air to disperse them.

The officers were assisted by their colleagues who had been staged outside the Nakuru County Assembly less than 500 metres from the KFA roundabout.

What ensued was a two-hour hide-and-seek game between the security officers and protesters who kept re-grouping and daring the police.

Business in the City Centre came to a standstill as traders who had been operating their businesses normally quickly closed shop and left the CBD.

All the seven supermarkets within the CBD were also temporarily closed down until late in the evening as well as government and county government offices.

Some banks also closed shop while some had their doors half open.