As news of Raila Odinga’s loss in Kenya’s presidential election filtered through to his stronghold of Kisumu on Monday, angry supporters streamed into the streets, hurling stones and alleging vote-rigging as police fired tear gas to disperse them, IgbereTV reports
The 77-year-old’s young supporters — who fondly refer to him as “Baba” or “father” in Swahili — told AFP they were furious to see Odinga lose his fifth stab at Kenya’s presidency.
A veteran opposition politician now backed by the ruling party, Odinga has not spoken in public since the results were announced, but has accused his opponents of cheating him out of victory in the 2007, 2013 and 2017 presidential elections.
The 2007 polls in particular — which many independent observers also considered deeply flawed — cast a long shadow over Kenyan politics, unleashing a wave of ethnic violence that pitted tribal groups against each other and cost more than 1,100 lives.
As the sun set on Kisumu, large numbers of protesters congregated on a roundabout in the western lakeside city, throwing stones and setting tyres on fire as they blocked roads with broken rocks.
“It was not free and fair. We were cheated,” 26-year-old Odinga supporter Collins Odoyo told AFP as he rushed off to join the crowd, barefoot and with a vuvuzela horn strapped across his back.
Many shops in Kisumu had closed early, fearing possible protests over the result, and at least one supermarket was looted as young men walked away with food and electronic goods.
“The government must listen to us. They must redo the election,” said Isaac Onyango, 24, his eyes streaming as police tried to defuse the demonstration with tear gas.
“You can’t steal from us!” shouted a young man in a balaclava wielding a club.
Another protester loading a rock into a slingshot yelled: “We will not surrender
