{"id":55662,"date":"2024-06-20T13:03:21","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T13:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2024\/06\/20\/coastal-mps-condemn-excessive-police-force-during-mombasa-protests\/"},"modified":"2024-06-20T13:03:21","modified_gmt":"2024-06-20T13:03:21","slug":"coastal-mps-condemn-excessive-police-force-during-mombasa-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/coastal-mps-condemn-excessive-police-force-during-mombasa-protests\/","title":{"rendered":"Coastal MPs condemn excessive police force during Mombasa protests"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>NAIROBI, Kenya, June 20 \u2013 Coastal leaders have criticized Inspector General Japhet Koome and the National Police Service for their heavy-handed response during ongoing demonstrations in Mombasa County.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Led by Likoni Member of Parliament Mishi Mboko, they condemned the use of tear gas at Coast Girls Secondary School.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is shameful to see our police officers in Kenya, particularly in Mombasa, subjecting peaceful demonstrators to tear gas and unlawful arrests,\u201d stated Mboko.<\/p>\n<p>The Likoni legislator questioned the rationale behind police actions that endangered children while citizens were peacefully expressing their opposition to the Finance Bill 2024.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe strongly condemn the assault on children. The density of tear gas in that classroom is particularly reprehensible,\u201d Mboko added.<\/p>\n<p>Mombasa Woman Representative Zamzam Mohammed criticized the police force under Koome for threatening the right to peaceful assembly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are telling Generation Z not to be intimidated by the police. We will soon join them in the streets because the devil is in the details of this bill,\u201d Mohammed declared.<\/p>\n<p>Butere MP Tindi Mwale lamented that the government was reverting to the oppressive tactics of the KANU era by using excessive force to silence dissent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy are peaceful demonstrators being teargassed? It feels like we are returning to the days of Moi\u2019s rule. Why are protests being handled so aggressively at a girls\u2019 school?\u201d Mwale questioned.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the rains, the anti-Finance Bill protests began in Mombasa on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of protestors gathered in the streets, facing a heavy police presence. The well-known Mapembeni area along Moi Avenue, initially designated as the central meeting point, was cordoned off.<\/p>\n<p>Braving tear gas and a substantial police presence, young activists, organized under the banner of \u201cOccupy Parliament,\u201d peacefully marched through Nairobi on Tuesday, chanting demands for their leaders to reject the bill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReject Finance Bill, down with Finance Bill,\u201d they chanted.<\/p>\n<p>Tuesday\u2019s demonstration stood out for its youthful participants and peaceful nature, in contrast to traditional protests often led by older youth and driven by political figures.<\/p>\n<p>The protestors wielded smartphones and placards with various messages, rather than the stones and crude weapons typically associated with antigovernmental protests.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NAIROBI, Kenya, June 20 \u2013 Coastal leaders have criticized Inspector General Japhet Koome and the National Police Service for their heavy-handed response during ongoing demonstrations in Mombasa County. Led by Likoni Member of Parliament Mishi Mboko, they condemned the use of tear gas at Coast Girls Secondary School. \u201cIt is shameful to see our police [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55662\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}