Kenya’s Azimio protests: Hundreds storm farm of ex-President Uhuru Kenyatta

Hundreds of protesters have overrun a farm owned by the family of former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, during another day of fierce opposition protests.

A BBC journalist at the scene saw the invaders stealing sheep, with one man saying he was selling it for $23 (£19).

There were no police in sight and some of the looters were carrying machetes.

Others were felling and burning trees, and many of those on the farm in Nairobi’s outskirts had been bussed in.

Many businesses near the farm and in the city centre remained closed. A gas factory linked to opposition leader Raila Odinga has also been vandalised.

In Nairobi’s Kibera neighbourhood, where Mr Odinga enjoys huge support, police have fired tear gas at stone-throwing protesters.

At least one person has been killed in the protests in the western city of Kisumu, an opposition stronghold, where police fired tear gas at protesters who burnt tyres and barricaded major roads.

Since the protests began last week, at least three people have been killed in the violence.

Mr Odinga and his Azimio la Umoja coalition first called for demonstrations earlier this month to protest against government failures to curb rising prices, and what he says was the fraudulent victory of President William Ruto in last year’s election.

Even though that win was upheld by Kenya’s highest court, Mr Odinga insists that the election was “stolen” and has called for protests every Monday and Thursday.

Mr Odinga is a former prime minister who has run for president unsuccessfully six times. As ex-President Kenyatta’s tenure neared its end, he chose to back his former rival Mr Odinga instead of his own deputy Mr Ruto.

The Kenyatta family is one of Kenya’s biggest landowners.

Some of the media report deliberately hostile and intimidating treatment. Local and international journalists covering the protests in Kibera were robbed at knifepoint by a mob.

A journalist with the Nation Media group said he was forced to delete his photos by the police while monitoring events in central Nairobi, and that his press card was destroyed.

Meanwhile two journalists with Africa Uncensored, a media company specialising in investigations, were detained in a police van for half an hour before being released. They then heading to the ex-president’s farm, where they were harassed by members of the large crowd and had a phone stolen, forcing them to flee.

Kenyan police have not yet commented on the attacks or detentions of journalists. BBC