Police in Kenya have shot and killed two opposition protesters who allegedly stormed a police station with farm tools and rocks in the western part of the country.
Three other protesters had gunshot wounds in Siaya County, Bondo police chief Paul Kiarie said.
Police used tear gas on rallies in the capital and elsewhere demanding reforms ahead of the new election.
The demonstrations defied a new government ban on opposition protests in the central business districts of Kenya’s three largest cities, while concerns rose again about election-related violence in East Africa’s largest economy.
In the capital, Nairobi, police fired tear gas as opposition supporters tried to march to the central business district.
In Kisumu, Kenya’s third-largest city, local television showed running battles with stone-throwing youth.
Police also used tear gas in Mombasa, Kenya’s second-largest city, said opposition politician Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir.
The government on Thursday banned opposition protests in the cities’ central business districts because of “imminent danger of breach of peace”, Interior Minister Fred Matiangi said, claiming opposition supporters had looted businesses and attacked police stations. Human rights groups protested against the ban, with some pointing out that police have killed at least 37 people in protests since the results of the August election were announced.
The Supreme Court annulled that vote, citing irregularities, and called for a new one which has been set for October 26.
“This ban, announced just two weeks ahead of a fraught repeat presidential election, is likely to become a basis for heavy-handed police crackdowns,” said Michelle Kagari, a deputy regional director with Amnesty International.
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