Third Kenyan opposition figure arrested amid crackdown

2018-02-03 19:00

Nairobi - Kenyan police on Saturday briefly detained another key government critic over his alleged involvement in the recent mock inauguration of opposition leader Raila Odinga as the "people's president", the third such arrest within four days.

Police said they arrested George Aladwa at his home early on Saturday morning, before releasing him several hours later after questioning.

Aladwa is accused of helping to organise the January 30 symbolic swearing-in in Nairobi in front of tens of thousands of supporters, in a fresh challenge to President Uhuru Kenyatta's re-election last year.

Police said Aladwa, who was arrested at his home on Saturday morning, was also being questioned over his role in a shooting Wednesday at the home of Odinga's running-mate, Kalonzo Musyoka.

"Aladwa is being investigated over what happened at Kalonzo's home. He is also being questioned over the chaos in (Nairobi) where he mobilised youths," police spokesman Charles Owino told AFP.

Kenyatta's victory in a re-run vote in October has sparked deadly clashes and polarised the country.

KEEP UPDATED on the latest news from around the continent by subscribing to our FREE newsletter, Hello Africa.

FOLLOW News24 Africa on Twitter and Facebook. 

The government has denounced Odinga for trying to "overthrow" Kenyatta, while the opposition claims the election process was rigged and the result illegitimate.

At least 92 people have died in recent months, with most protesters killed at the hands of security forces, according to rights groups.

Aladwa's detention follows the separate arrests this week of opposition firebrand Miguna Miguna and of lawyer TJ Kajwang for their alleged key roles in Odinga's swearing-in.

The government also blocked three major TV channels to stop them from broadcasting the Tuesday's "swearing-in".

The stations remained off air Saturday despite a court order issued Thursday to end the suspensions.

Police have also ignored a judge's ruling to release Miguna ahead of his court appearance scheduled for Monday.

"Tension is building up and it is just a matter of time before it explodes," the Daily Nation newspaper wrote in an editorial Saturday.

"It is absurd that Mr Odinga and his coalition members have chosen the path of confrontation... but the government's reaction is equally revolting," according to the paper.

The United Nations and the US have denounced the Kenyan government's crackdown.

But Odinga's inauguration has also alienated him from the international community, with Western diplomats saying they were not in contact with him.

International calls for dialogue between the two sides have for months been ignored by both the government and opposition.

Read more on:    uhuru kenyatta  |  raila odinga  |  kenya  |  east africa

Join the conversation!

24.com encourages commentary submitted via MyNews24. Contributions of 200 words or more will be considered for publication.

We reserve editorial discretion to decide what will be published.
Read our comments policy for guidelines on contributions.
NEXT ON NEWS24X

Inside News24

 
Traffic Alerts
There are new stories on the homepage. Click here to see them.
 
English
Afrikaans
isiZulu

Hello 

Create Profile

Creating your profile will enable you to submit photos and stories to get published on News24.


Please provide a username for your profile page:

This username must be unique, cannot be edited and will be used in the URL to your profile page across the entire 24.com network.

Settings

Location Settings

News24 allows you to edit the display of certain components based on a location. If you wish to personalise the page based on your preferences, please select a location for each component and click "Submit" in order for the changes to take affect.




Facebook Sign-In

Hi News addict,

Join the News24 Community to be involved in breaking the news.

Log in with Facebook to comment and personalise news, weather and listings.