Kenyan police have fired teargas canisters into a crowd of thousands of opposition protesters on Friday as they attempted to march into the city centre of the capital Nairobi to protest against tax hikes.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga called for a return of protests to oppose tax increases approved by President William Ruto last month.
Kenya's High Court ordered that the tax hikes to be suspended but the government has raised petrol prices anyway, leading to a further court challenge.
Protests also erupted in the towns of Mombasa, Kisumu, Kisii, and Meru where demonstrators clashed with the police. Police have arrested several protesters, including former governor Nderitu Murithi who led protests in Nyahururu town.
Police had allowed the opposition's main rally in Nairobi to go ahead, but warned against the destruction of properties and businesses.
Government reasons
Odinga addressed a crowd of supporters at the historic Kamukunji ground in the capital. He accused the government of failing to tackle the high cost of living, poaching opposition lawmakers and unilaterally reconstituting the election commission.
He said they would then march to another park in the main business district. But police then started firing teargas to stop the crowd, some of whom threw rocks at the police before turning back.
Local media outlets had reported that the protesters were not allowed to enter the main business district, quoting the head of Nairobi police, Adamson Bungei.
President William Ruto's government says the tax hikes, expected to raise an extra $1.42 billion a year, will help deal with the country's growing debt repayments, and fund job-creation initiatives.
