UPDATE: 5:10 p.m: More than fifty people were on Tuesday, July 7, arrested in Nairobi following the Saba Saba demonstrations
Nairobi Police Commander Philip Ndolo stated that the activists did not inform the relevant authorities about their plan to take to the streets.
4:26 p.m: Renowned activist Boniface Mwangi was arrested while protesting over the Saba Saba march that turned chaotic in Nairobi.
11:00 a.m: Chaotic scenes were witnessed as the police lobbed teargas to disperse protesters in the Nairobi Central Business District.
10:25 a.m: Kibra activist Editar Achieng' was arrested during the Saba Saba protests heading into the city.
She was among protestors taking part in the demonstration dubbed 'Saba Saba March for Our Lives'
Editar vied for the Kibra parliamentary seat during the by-election in 2019 following the death of MP Ken Okoth. The seat was won by his brother Imran Okoth under the ODM party ticket.
Protestors from Kayole and Mathare on Tuesday, July 7, encountered teargas as they were marching towards the Nairobi city centre in commemoration of the 30th Saba Saba Day protests.
Several civil society groups, as well as veteran members of the Saba Saba movement and activists, had planned a demonstration dubbed 'Saba Saba March for Our Lives' along Harambee Avenue in the capital.
Police, however, repulsed the group before they could access the city, opting to disperse them with teargas.
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The protest as announced by, among others, activist Boniface Mwangi was aimed at pushing for the full implementation of the Kenya 2010 Constitution.
"On Tuesday, peaceful citizens will take part in Saba Saba March for Our Lives. You must ensure the National Police Service respect article 37 of the constitution, the right, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket, and to present petitions to public authorities," Mwangi stated in a statement addressed to the Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai.
The group argued that the gains by the Saba Saba movement would be lost if the Kenya 2010 Constitution was not implemented in its entirety.
30 years since the first Saba Saba protests that initiated the process of changing the constitution to make Kenya a multi-party state.
This was due to the excesses by President Daniel Moi that drove Kenyans to start mobilising for a new Constitution as far back as 1985. In 2010, that new Constitution was promulgated.
Veterans Charles Rubia, Kenneth Matiba and Raila Odinga were arrested by police just four days before they were expected to address a massive rally at Kamukunji Grounds demanding an end to single-party rule.
More than 5,000 citizens were arrested all over the country and many others maimed or killed for daring to utter the word “multiparty”.
Their agitation, however, set the stage for the repeal of Section 2A in 1991 marking a return to multi-party politics and expanding the country's democratic space.
