Human rights activist Hussein Khalid was on Sunday afternoon arrested while leading a group of activists to hold an event at Nairobi’s Uhuru Park.
Khalid was addressing the press at the time of the arrest after police cordoned off the entrance to the venue from hundreds of youth who were slowly gathering to enter the venue.
The arrest came moments after police lobbed teargas canisters at a group of youth who had assembled within Nairobi Central Business District in a bid to march to occupy the Uhuru Park Grounds.
The youth soon ran as police kept watch at the venue and vowed not to let anyone access the park with other intentions that were likely to disrupt peace.
Khalid, a vocal human rights defender, was moved to the Central Police Station in Nairobi.
Images seen by Kenyans.co.ke, showed the activist being dragged by the police from the media briefing before being bungled hurriedly into a waiting police vehicle.
Earlier, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja had warned individuals who were planning to converge at the park to honour victims of police brutality who died during the anti-government protests in Nairobi and other parts of the country.
This after some citizen groups had gone to concerned authorities to seek permission to use the venue for an event scheduled to run alongside Mashujaa Day celebrations that were being held in Kwale County.
‘’Uhuru Park has been open and remains open to the public every day. Every Kenyan is allowed to come and is welcome to enjoy their Park. You can also book for events. A public park is, however, not available to be reserved for exclusive use during a public holiday. Other Kenyans will also want to enjoy it. It can be reserved on any other day. Come on a one-on-one basis, no need for seeking permissions,’’ he stated.
This is the second time that the human rights defender has been arrested this year following an earlier arrest on July 25 this year when he and other activists led a group of youths to demand the whereabouts of youths who were missing after the anti-government protests in Nairobi.
Boniface Mwangi, a fellow activist had earlier reported that police had blocked them from holding their event at the park, while expressing his frustrations over what he termed as a limit to the freedom of expression and assembly.
‘’We have been stopped from accessing Uhuru Park. He has deployed police officers, and l was told we are not allowed in there. I was with my wife and children. The police officers, and county employees manning the gate said they're simply following orders,’’ Mwangi shared.
