Police silence dissent in Nairobi

By Orla Guerin
BBC News, Nairobi

Some opposition supporters have defied a ban on demonstrations

From early morning we watched special units of paramilitary police in action in the slums of Nairobi - sweeping in and out, storming through the narrow alleyways, hunting down opposition supporters or anyone else they could grab.

We followed the police down one alleyway, and witnessed the beating of an unarmed local man.

His neighbour stood in the doorway of his tin shack, an infant girl in pink at his feet.

"Please have mercy on the children," he begged, as the police passed his door.

A short distance away we saw the police charging towards a crowd of unarmed local people gathered at the entrance to a market.

The result was panic; people pushing and shoving, trying to squeeze through a narrow gate to make their get-away.

Some were too late. They were grabbed by the police, and beaten with batons.

Fire power

Opposition supporters who came out to protest - in spite of a ban on demonstrations - were choked with tear gas.

In the back alleys some locals taunted the police with their weapon of choice: the machete.

The government and the police have turned this country into killing fields of the innocent Opposition leader Raila Odinga

One old man, panga in hand, told us they would seek revenge on the police. "They are killing our people," he said, "today we will kill them. You will see."

But it was the police who had the fire power, and they used it.

Some were armed with semi-automatic weapons. During the day we heard live rounds being fired in civilian areas, and captured some of the shooting on film.

The authorities say they were enforcing the law. The opposition says seven innocent civilians were shot dead.

"The government and the police have turned this country into killing fields of the innocent," said opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Silencing dissent

Downtown, in the heart of the capital Nairobi, a handful of his supporters dared to chant his name, and the slogan much heard since Kenya's disputed election three weeks ago: No Raila, No Peace.

Within seconds police moved in pursuing them right down the main street, firing tear gas as they went, determined to silence any dissent.

Nearby, police were telling passers-by to get off the streets, and by mid-afternoon many businesses were already boarded up.

Kenya's economy - the fast-growing economy in East Africa - is another victim of this conflict.

International efforts at mediation have come to nothing, and the opposition is vowing to keep up its fight. The three days of protest called for this week are set to continue on Friday.