Protests rocked major towns in Nyanza yesterday as demonstrators demanded the release of lawyer Miguna Miguna.
In Kisumu, protesters barricaded roads leading to the city centre. The Kisumu-Kakamega road was blocked near Kondele, where protesters lit bonfires.
The protesters were led by county assembly speaker Onyango Oloo and Market-Mlimani ward MCA Seth Ochieng, among other county leaders. Oloo said the government should not continue to hold Miguna in police cells without producing him in a court as ordered by the High Court.
Miguna was presented before the magistrate’s court in Kajiado yesterday, but he did not take a plea. He was arrested last Friday for his role in the swearing-in of Raila Odinga as the ‘People’s President’ on January 30.
No one knows where he spent the night. At the weekend NASA said he had been locked up at the Lari police station, but officers denied it. The police would not let doctors give him medicine and chased them away, threatening to lock them up.
arrest all supporters
Oloo said, “We demand that the Jubilee government release Miguna Miguna unconditionally...the government should not select a few NASA leaders but arrest all its supporters over the recent swearing-in ceremony.”
He criticised US Ambassador Robert Godec for interfering with Kenyan affairs and failing to condemn violence by the government. Later, riot police dispersed protesters on the Jomo Kenyatta Highway.
Yesterday High Court judge Luka Kimaru directed police to immediately release Miguna. He said the lawyer remains free on the Sh50,000 anticipatory bail granted last week. “I have just been informed that Miguna is [here]. I will not leave until he is released.”
In Migori county, roads in Migori, Rongo, Awendo and Sori towns were blocked by angry youths. The Migori Town Bridge, which connects the country to Tanzania, was a no-go zone as youths piled boulders and prevented vehicles from going through.
“We voted only on August 8 and we took part in the Uhuru Park swearing-in of Raila. If government needs to arrest Miguna then they should come to Migori and arrest all of us,” Nancy Aludo, a resident, said.
Jared Okinyi said, “We will also stand by Raila and his supporters against police intimidation.”
Activities in Homa Bay town were at a standstill the entire morning as youths lit bonfires and barricaded major roads. Led by Philip Osinde, the youths said they will hold protests until Miguna is freed.
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