Kenyan police killed at least 11 people in a crackdown on protests as anger at the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta erupted in the western city of Kisumu and slums ringing the capital, officials and witnesses said on Saturday.
The bodies of nine young men shot dead overnight in Nairobi's Mathare slum had been brought to the city morgue, a security official told Reuters. The men were killed during police anti-looting operations, the official added.
Separately, a young girl in Mathare was killed by police firing "sporadic shots", a witness said. The run-down neighbourhood is loyal to 72-year-old opposition leader Raila Odinga, whose party rejected Tuesday's vote as a "charade".
A Reuters reporter in Kisumu, centre of post-election ethnic violence a decade ago in which 1,200 people died nationwide, said tear gas and live rounds were fired. One man had been killed, a government official said.
The unrest erupted moments after Kenya's election commission announced late on Friday that Kenyatta, 55, had secured a second five-year term in office, despite opposition allegations that the tally was a fraud.
Interior Minister Fred Matiang'i said the trouble was localised and blamed it on "criminal elements" rather than legitimate political protest.
Odinga's NASA coalition provided no evidence for its rejection of the result. Kenya's main monitoring group, ELOG, said on Saturday its tally matched the official outcome, undermining NASA's allegations of fraud.
In addition to the deaths, Kisumu's main hospital was treating four people for gunshot wounds and six who had been beaten by Kenyan police, its records showed.
One man, 28-year-old Moses Oduor, was inside his home in the impoverished district of Obunga when police conducting house-to-house raids dragged him out of his bedroom and beat him with clubs.
"He was not out fighting them. He was rescued by my sister who lives next to him. She came outside screaming at the police, asking why they are beating people," his brother, Charles Ochieng said, speaking on behalf of a dazed Oduor.
More shooting was heard outside the hospital on Saturday morning. In Nairobi, armed police units backed by water cannon moved through the rubble-strewn streets of Kibera, another pro-Odinga slum.
"CRIMINAL ELEMENTS"
Interior minister Matiang'i defended the police against accusations of brutality.
"Let us be honest - there are no demonstrations happening," he told reporters.
"Individuals or gangs that are looting shops, that want to endanger lives, that are breaking into people's businesses – those are not demonstrators. They are criminals. And we expect police to deal with criminals how criminals should be dealt with."
As with previous votes in 2007 and 2013, this year's elections have exposed the underlying ethnic tensions in the nation of 45 million, the economic engine of East Africa and the region's main trading hub.
In particular, Odinga's Luo tribe, who hail from the west, had hoped an Odinga presidency would have broken the Kikuyu and Kalenjin dominance of central government since independence in 1963. Kenyatta, son of Kenya's first president, is a Kikuyu.
Even before the declaration, Odinga's NASA coalition had rejected the outcome, saying the election commission's systems had been hacked, the count was irregular and foreign observers who gave the poll a clean bill of health were biased.
NASA provided no evidence for any of its accusations but singled out former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and former South African president Thabo Mbeki - who both led teams of election observers - for criticism.
Top Odinga lieutenant James Orengo said NASA would not challenge the results in court - as Odinga did when he lost in 2013 - but hinted at mass action by praising the history of Kenyans in standing up to previous "stolen" elections.
"Going to court is not an option. We have been there before," Orengo told reporters.
In addition to the thumbs-up from foreign monitors, Kenya's ELOG domestic observation group, which had 8,300 agents on the ground, published a parallel vote tally on Saturday that conformed with the official results.
ELOG's projected outcome put Kenyatta on 54 percent with a 1.9 percent error margin - compared to an official tally of 54.3 percent.
"We did not find anything deliberately manipulated," ELOG chairwoman Regina Opondo said.
Reuters
Sat Aug 12 2017

Supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga lit tires to block the road at Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya, Saturday, Aug 12, 2017. AP Photo

China promises Latin America 'trustworthy' ties as Trump lays out demands
Beijing looks to improve its foothold in a region historically under the US sphere of influence.

Major risks loom as Trump upends US Russia policy
Washington's approach changes dramatically with the initial meeting between US and Russian negotiators.

Pope Francis has double pneumonia, complicating his treatment, Vatican says
Doctors say a polymicrobial infection occurs when two or more micro-organisms are involved and can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi.

Philippines' VP Duterte challenges impeachment before Supreme Court
Sara Duterte makes her first legal move to fight the case that could lead to her removal and lead to a lifetime ban from public office.

Motor racing - Hamilton steps out in red at unprecedented 10 team F1 launch
I feel so full of life, so much energy, because everything's new and I'm just focused on what is up ahead, Hamilton says.

UAE tells US' Rubio it rejects displacement of Palestinians
The UAE's stance matters as its one of four Arab nations that normalised ties with Israel during Trumps first term.

Taylor Swift wins recording artist of the year crown for fifth time
The megastar's "The Tortured Poets Department" record also topped four IFPI charts, the IFPI says.

More than $50 billion needed to rebuild Gaza, World Bank joint assessment says
Years of rebuilding work, including clearing unexploded ordinance and millions of tonnes of rubble lie ahead.

Malaysia’s AI data centre development to be impacted by recent US restrictions - Liew
Liew Chin Tong says the restrictions would not affect the development of the domestic data centre ecosystem as a whole.

Sweden's top court rejects Greta Thunberg lawsuit on climate action
A court cannot decide that the parliament or the government must take any specific action, the Supreme Court says.
![[COLUMNIST] Trump’s Gaza (pipe) dream [COLUMNIST] Trump’s Gaza (pipe) dream](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-10/51728873693_EMIR.jpg)
[COLUMNIST] Trump’s Gaza (pipe) dream
The Gaza plan is dangerous and counter-productive as it's merely another recipe for regional instability.

Sivasangari eyes new career-high in world rankings
After climbing to a career-best world number seven, national women's squash ace S. Sivasangari is determined to keep rising.

Outburst against Steven Sim: DAP will probe if there's a complaint - Loke
DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke says the disciplinary committee has not received any reports related to the incident so far.

US judge will not block Elon Musk from firing federal workers, accessing data
The case raises questions about Musk's apparent unchecked authority as a top deputy to President Donald Trump.

Dozens of false killer whales stranded on remote Australian beach
Rescue crews trying to save the majority of the large dolphins that survived the ordeal, according to authorities.

Trump restricts AP access over Gulf of Mexico issue
The AP, citing editorial standards, says it would continue to use the gulf's established name.

China to fly back 200 nationals rescued from Myanmar scam centres, Thai official says
This is part of a multinational effort to crack down on illegal online operations run from the region.

Somber Tiger Woods back in action in TGL loss to New York GC
Tiger Woods makes his first start since the death of his mother when he competed in a TGL match at Palm Beach Gardens.

Brazil's ex-President Bolsonaro charged in alleged coup plot
A total of 34 people were charged, including several military officials.

Trump and Musk target tax enforcers, rocket scientists, bank regulators for job cuts
Concerns grow over transparency, oversight, and Musk's influence on government operations.