Protesters and police in Kenya have clashed after the leader of the opposition claimed he was cheated of victory by a hacking attack that he said manipulated the results in the country’s presidential election. Raila Odinga, the leader of the National Super Alliance, said election commission computer systems and databases were tampered with overnight to “create errors” in favour of rival candidate Uhuru Kenyatta, who has been in power since 2013. Odinga urged his supporters to remain calm, but added: “I don’t control the people.” “You can only cheat the people for so long,” he said. “The 2017 general election was a fraud.” With ballots from 96% of polling stations counted, results released by Kenya’s electoral commission show Kenyatta leading with 54.4% of the vote, against Odinga’s 44.8%, a difference of 1.4 million votes. The election is seen as a key test of the stability of one of Africa’s most important countries.
Across most of the country streets were empty, most businesses remained shut and an uneasy calm prevailed. The violent incidents were limited, raising hopes that Kenya may avoid a major breakdown of law and order.
In the western city of Kisumu police fired teargas at a group of 100 opposition supporters who had been chanting: “No Raila, no peace.”
Protests were also held in the poor Nairobi neighbourhood of Mathare, an Odinga stronghold. At about 2pm, two young men were killed and five injured when police opened fire on demonstrators who had blocked a road, a witness told the Guardian.
Full Article: Kenya police and protesters clash after opposition leader’s fraud claims | World news | The Guardian.