Leaders allied to the National Super Alliance (NASA) in Mombasa County were on Friday teargassed by police as they were gathering to start anti-IEBC demos.
Mombasa Deputy Governor William Kingi, Senator Mohammed Faki and Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir were dispersed together with their supporters as they converged on Uhuru Gardens along Moi Avenue in the coastal city.
Police had swarmed the city's streets prior to the protests, ready to implement the government's order on demos.
[caption caption="The Leaders After Being Teragassed"]
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No sooner had they started their protests than police fired teargas, forcing the group to disperse.
The protesters scampered for safety, with police in hot pursuit while the leaders later gathered to condemn the incident.
[caption caption="Heavy Police Presence"]
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Mr Kingi vowed the protests would continue and stated that they would hold a rally at Mama Ngina Drive on Sunday to push for electoral reforms.
"It is our right to demonstrate and we will not be deterred. It is enshrined in the constitution but police always come to disperse us," stated Kingi.
On Thursday, Interior CS Fred Matiang'i banned all demos in major cities as he stated that protesters were using the chaos to rob members of the public and destroy property.
Several NASA leaders faulted the CS's directive noting Kenyans do not need his permission to enjoy their right to peacefully demonstrate and picket.
The Opposition is pushing for systems and personnel changes at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) before the repeat presidential election, including the dropping of Dubai-based ballots printer Al Ghurair and French technology supplier OT-Morpho.
[caption caption="Mombasa Leaders During the Protests"]
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NASA also wants IEBC CEO Ezra Chiloba and 10 other top officials accused of bungling August 8 poll, which was quashed by the Supreme Court, shown the door.
