Police in Mombasa were forced to lob teargas canisters to disperse protesting youth on Wednesday, following a four-hour peaceful demonstration in memory of those killed during last year’s anti-Finance Bill protests.
The demonstrators had peacefully marched through Moi Avenue, Digo Road, Jomo Kenyatta Avenue, Ronald Ngala Road, and Abdel Nasser Road, eventually returning to the town centre.
Tensions escalated when the group moved down Nkurumah Road toward the Mombasa County Commissioner’s office, which also leads to State House, Mombasa, where tens of police officers had been stationed to block further access.
At the Mombasa Law Courts roundabout, County Commissioner Mohammed Noor briefly addressed the protesters.
“It was generally a peaceful demonstration, apart from a few criminal elements who tried to infiltrate and cause havoc. We will receive the petition, and the youth can now peacefully disperse,” Noor said.
However, soon after the police began pushing back the crowd, chaos erupted, leading to running battles between the youth and the police.
Along Digo Road, officers fired at least three teargas canisters to control the increasingly rowdy crowd.
Eventually, the police managed to drive the demonstrators out of the town centre.
