NANE NANE ROUNDUP: 174 Protesters Arrested, Police Refute Being Notified of Demonstrations
Gilbert Masengeli, the acting Inspector General of Police, announced on Thursday that 174 people were arrested across the country during the Nane Nane anti-government protest.
Addressing journalists at Jogoo House in Nairobi in the evening, Masengeli stated that the protests had low turnout across the country, with few instances of looting and property damage.
“Unlike the recent demonstrations that were marred with wanton destructions of property, looting, injuries and loss of lives, today the country remained peaceful and normalcy prevailed, except in Nairobi where one officer was injured,” said the acting Police IG.
“Minimal skirmishes were witnessed in Downtown Nairobi, Kisii and Migori towns where attempts by goons to loot property was effectively thwarted by Officers.”
Ag Police IG Gilbert Masengeli: Today we intercepted a personal motor vehicle in Muthaiga at the residence of Jimi Wanjigi. In the vehicle we have recovered 4 teargas canisters, 2 Motorola gadgets, 7 assorted chargers for the pocket phones and 1 mobile phone pic.twitter.com/OFyDey0Wwk
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) August 8, 2024
Masengeli also stated that several arrests were made in Nairobi, Kitengela, and Emali for attempting to disturb the peace and disrupt normalcy.
“We also arrested a total of 174 suspects that is, 126 in Nairobi, 22 in Kitengela-Rift Valley, and 26 at Emali-Makueni County,” he said.
The police chief went on to say that the organizers of the Nane Nane protests did not notify the security organs of their planned actions, as required by law.
He did, however, note that police officers were up to the task and were deployed appropriately to ensure that no chaos occurred, as prior intelligence had indicated.
The Memo:
— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) August 8, 2024
Tonight, we are calling out police officers who decided that it is alright to clobber innocent, unthreatening Kenyans.
Others chose to disregard the sacrosanct role of the Media.
Mr. Acting Inspector-General of Police, Gilbert Masengeli, is this the identity that the… pic.twitter.com/8JjHckrYBJ
“We acknowledge the supremacy of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 in particular Article 37 that guarantees the right for every person peaceably and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket, and to present petitions to public authorities,” said Masengeli.
“Despite failure by conveners of today’s demonstration to notify the Police of their intention to hold the demonstration, we ensured adequate deployment of security personnel and cautioned members of the public to avoid crowded areas that were likely to turn riotous.”
On Wednesday, Masengeli warned that goons could infiltrate the Thursday protests, endangering the country’s security.
During a press conference, Masengeli stated that intelligence reports had pointed to the same conclusion and that officers would not hesitate to engage the marauders.
“The initial demonstrations held in June were peaceful but subsequent protests morphed into riots, with looters destroying and stealing property,” he said.
BREAKING: Kenyan police targeted me directly today. I was hit by a fragment after officers aimed at me and my CNN team at least twice while covering protests in Nairobi pic.twitter.com/Nh8F7HOvjI
— Larry Madowo (@LarryMadowo) August 8, 2024
While urging the public to remain vigilant during the protests, Masengeli also warned protesters against trespassing on protected areas such as the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and State House.
NANE NANE ROUNDUP: 174 Protesters Arrested, Police Refute Being Notified of Demonstrations
