(Politics): Kenyan Police Clashes with Opposition Protesters in the Capital, Nairobi

Kenyan police clashed with anti-government protesters in the capital, Nairobi, on Tuesday in a fresh round of demonstrations called by the opposition leader.

Opposition MPs went to the Speaker's office in the central business district to present a petition. The police dispersed them using tear gas.

Vice President Rigathi Gachagua told us, “we know where to find them. We know it”. We went there and met the police. Cowards! said Senator Edwin Sifuna of Nairobi County.

Protesters who showed up in the morning to erect barricades on the city's main roads threw stones at the police, who responded with tear gas. A bus and a freight truck were set on fire.

Business was brought to a standstill in Kisumu County, an opposition stronghold, as police clashed with protesters.

The opposition is calling for measures to tackle the cost of living and reforms to the electoral commission which oversaw the election won by President William Ruto last year.

Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki in a statement reported acts of violence and looting carried out by "hoards of criminals posing as political protesters", saying law enforcement "have instructed to enforce the law firmly and decisively. " A total of 46 people were arrested on Tuesday, according to the minister.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga, Kenya's former prime minister, rejected the government's position that Tuesday's protests were illegal and urged his supporters to turn out in large numbers. According to the opposition, the protest resumes on Thursday, May 4.

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