23:50 Sadly some of these civilians are innocent harmless Kenyan children.
Yesterday Kisumu residents attended the solemn funeral of one master Salim Hamed,13, who was killed by three 'stray' police bullets while playing football with his friends. His death has been described as a great tragedy by human rights activists. Read Salim's unfortunate story here.
School going children have not been spared either. These two school uniform clad children are seen above taking cover on the side of protesters as opposed to side of police. As you can see from the picture, the young girl is terrified! This was after police threw tear gas canisters into the Olympic Primary School compound disrupting learning and severely affecting health of the minors (see below).
Yesterday, which was the second day of ODM protest rallies, journalists were barred from covering a paramilitary operation in Kibera slums ostensibly because news reports have painted security officers guilty of attacking women and children out of frustration of failing to arrest young men who have made spirited attempts to march to Uhuru park. The police are also accused of engaging in sexual violence (gang rape) of women who have been left behind in the slums. Yesterday, GSU officers cordoned off the entrance to the slums to bar journalists from witnessing the operation, which left four people killed.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) published a shocking report yesterday indicating that more than 100,000 Kenyan children have been forced to flee their homes due to the wave of violence that swept through Kenya following last month’s disputed elections. The UN agency report said that as many as 75,000 children are now residing in over 100 camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs), while many thousands more children are believed to be living temporarily with other family members.Regrettably, these displacements have coincided with the onset of the short rains. For children who sleep out in the open, often without meals while it is wet and cold, this is a huge humanitarian catastrophe and ALL KENYAN LEADERS ought to be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen.
This blogger believes that excessive force employed by police in trying to block ODM mass action protest rallies is responsible for the suffering of these children. The President, through his internal security minister, retains the command control of the actions of all security forces in Kenya, including those who tear gassed medical staff and patients at the Eldoret District Hospital yesterday.
It is time the president invoked these powers to prevent further suffering of these Kenyan children. It is long overdue.
23:23 
18:15 
17:02 