Chaos in Kenya as Uhuru Kenyatta is sworn in for second term

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term yesterday amid violent clashes between police and opposition supporters that left several dead.

Kenyatta’s inauguration, attended by local and foreign dignitaries, was overshadowed by chaos in other parts of the capital, Nairobi, where riot police fired tear gas and engaged in running battles with demonstrators.

More than 50 people are believed to have beeen killed over the past four months as Kenya has been gripped by political turmoil following two disputed election polls.

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AFP reported police firing volleys of teargas and beating opposition supporters who had gathered for a “memorial rally” honouring all those who have lost their lives since the trouble began. Associated Press reported that three people died attempting to enter the stadium where the swearing in ceremony was being held.

The violence stems from a decision by the Supreme Court to annul an August original election result because of what it described as “irregularities and illegalities”. Kenyatta subsequently secured a landslide 98% of votes cast in October’s re-run after the main opposition leader and presidential hopeful, Raila Odinga, called for his supporters to boycott the election.

However, despite the Supreme Court validating his victory, Kenyatta’s swearing-in appears not to have eased the political crisis.

The disputed election season has split the country along ethnic and regional lines, with “the current political crisis drawing on a deep well of social, ethnic and geographic grievances in the country of around 48 million people”, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Odinga has vowed to “fight on” regardless, announcing plans to be sworn in himself next month following a programme of protests and boycotts aimed at undermining Kenyatta’s “dictatorship”.