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BRUSSELS / Reuters
Kenyan authorities charged an opposition figure over his attendance at a mock inauguration ceremony, as protests erupted over the arrest of anti-government leaders.
Police charged Miguna Miguna with being present at the administering of an oath of office to National Super Alliance leader Raila Odinga on January 30 “purporting to bind†Odinga to a treasonous offense, according to a charge sheet published on the Twitter account of Ukweli Party leader Boniface Mwangi. Treason is a capital crime in Kenya.
Protesters demanding Miguna’s release marched through the streets of the western city of Kisumu and erected barricades of rocks and burning tires in the southwestern town of Migori near the border with Tanzania, Nairobi-based Nation TV reported. In the capital, police with water canons deployed in anticipation of a demonstration by opposition supporters.
Kenya’s government has arrested at least three opposition figures since Odinga was sworn-in as the so-called people’s president last week.
Odinga took the oath of office after rejecting the outcome of two presidential elections last year that delivered President Uhuru Kenyatta a second term. His alliance, known as Nasa, has demanded fresh elections.
The state also closed down three broadcasters for transmitting the opposition ceremony live.
Two of the channels, KTN News and Nation TV, resumed broadcasts, while the third, Citizen TV, remains off air, despite a Feb. 1 High Court order that the government allow them to resume transmissions.