Police Ban 'Bunge la Mwananchi' Meetings in the Central Business District

Police have banned gatherings that usually meet in the city center to discuss politics.

The meetings, which are popularly known as Bunge la Wananchi, have been banned effective immediately as it emerged that they pose a threat to nearby business premises.

You must have come across a group of men passionately engaging in political discussions along Mama Ngina Street, Wabera Street and next to the Kenya Archives in the city center.

The meetings often attract huge crowds that give their take on various socio-economic issues affecting the country but since last Friday, they have been dispersed by police.

Central OCPD Robinson Thuku on Tuesday stated the meetings are a threat to businesses on Mama Ngina and Wabera Street; Nakumatt Supermarket, Chase Bank and Diamond Trust Bank.

"We are doing away with these groupings called Bunge la Wananchi which are held in front of businesses in the CBD.

"They are a threat because people have raised concern over their security especially along Wabera Street where the crowd has become huge," stated Thuku.

With the August polls just over a month away, the meetings have been attracting more people who use the platform to express their views but Thuku advised they could hold their meetings at Uhuru Park where they will not inconvenience businesses.

The chairman of Bunge la Wananchi, City Hall Branch, Collins Onyango, said that police officers had been deployed to man their meeting points.

"We were barred from holding our daily meetings at City Hall. When we queried we were handcuffed and taken to Central Police Station where we were accused of urinating in the area...." he lamented.

Last month, members of the said group were accused of stoning a branch of Chase Bank in the area during the submission of nomination papers by President Uhuru Kenyatta.