Kenyan
police today tear-gassed schoolchildren protesting against a
politician's alleged move to seize their playground and turn it into a
car park.
Pupils
from Langata Road Primary School in Nairobi were at the front line of
protesters pulling down a wall thrown up around their playground after
it was acquired by a private developer.
At least 10 children were taken to hospital with injuries, including tear gas exposure to their eyes, Bloomberg reported
citing local MP Kenneth Okoth. Tonight Nairobi's police chief said he
had suspended the officer in charge of the protest.
Police
spokesman Masoud Mwinyi was not available for comment. A senior police
officer at the demonstration, Mwangi Kuria, told Kenya's Daily Nation
newspaper that officers had been deployed to 'safeguard the property',
adding that rocks had been thrown at his men.
'This is disputed land, but they should not use the children,' the policeman was quoted as saying.
Two
activists were detained by police, Kenyan media said. Macharia Njeru,
chairman of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, said the
incident would be investigated. 'Teargassing children is inexcusable,'
he said.
The
incident has sparked outrage in Kenya and on social media where critics
have been commenting on it under the hashtags 'OccupyPlayGround' and
'LangataPrimary'. Opposition leader Raila Odinga accused the police of
'brutality beyond words' and the developer of 'greed beyond
description'.
'It
is difficult to believe that police can actually deploy against primary
school children and lob tear gas at them to defend a land grabber,' Mr
Odinga said. 'This image of a nation determined to steal forcefully from
its own children cannot be what we aspire to. It cannot be the legacy
we want to bequeath the children.'
dailymail.co.uk
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