Outspoken comedian Eric Omondi was on Tuesday arrested after he led other men in demonstrating against the rising cost of living in the streets of Nairobi.
The placard-waving bare-chested men chanted bado mapambano (the struggle is on) as they made their way to Parliament buildings demanding an audience with Speaker Moses Wetang’ula.
“Stima juu, maji juu, unga juu, tax juu” were the words written on the placards.
The group sat across Parliament road, obstructing traffic, as they sang songs to rally youth not to sleep on their laurels in the face of a struggle for better living conditions.
“Vijana msilale, bado mapambano,” they sang. “Welcome aboard Eric Omondi…more people will join our movement of change … cost of living too high,” Narok Senator Ledama Olekina said in a tweet following the protest.
The group was, however, dispersed by police using tear gas as they attempted to storm Parliament buildings.
According to local media, the demonstrators demanded an audience with the National Assembly Speaker. Indeed, they reportedly alleged that the Assembly conned the nation by legislating and passing a bill which resulted in higher levels of taxation.
However, the group was not granted an audience.
Police lobbed teargas to disperse the shirtless protesters.
Some demonstrators including Omondi were reportedly arrested.
The attempted forceful entry was prompted by the failure of the speaker to grant the group audience from within the precincts of Parliament.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the inflation rate stood at 8.9% in January.
Late last year, the board of the International Monetary Fund, approved a disbursement of over 400 Million $ to Kenya.
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