Citizens are shocked when on Monday, the Kenyan police launched tear gas into a group of Nairobi school children in response to protesters who tried to break down the wall to access the local playground, Reuters via ABC News reported.
Activists and several hundred students gathered outside Langata Primary School to protest what they referred to as "illegal land grab," after it was announced that their local playground was being turned into a car park. Some of them tried to knock down a wall that was surrounding their playground in order to enter the venue.
Around forty armed police officers and police dogs arrived on the scene and fired at least three canisters of tear gas at the crowd, with a majority of the students and children present aged between 8 to 13, according to Telegraph.
The protesters fled the scene coughing and choking and trying to cover their faces, and some took shelter on a pedestrian bridge to escape the fumes. It was reported that at least five children ended up being rushed to the hospital for exposure to the gas among other causes of injuries.
Raila Odinga, an opposition leader, spoke out against the police attacking civilians, according to Global News.
Odinga was quoted as saying, "This is brutality beyond words and greed beyond description. It is difficult to believe that police can actually deploy against primary school children and lob tear gas at them to defend a land grabber."
Activist Boniface Mwangi, who took part in the process, claimed that a powerful politician and private developer was responsible for acquiring the playground, leading to protestors swarming the venue.
"The governor, the senator and other government officials are all scared of the politician. They cannot do anything to stop the playground from being taken," Mwangi said, as quoted by Global News.
A spokesman for the police, Masoud Mwinyi, told news outlets that authorities were looking into the violent incident and are planning to impose disciplinary sanctions against the officers who attacked the civilians, according to Reuters.
"Apparently a level of force which is not commensurate to the persons involved was used," Mwinyi said.
Samuel Arachi, the acting chief of police, also stated that they "We will never allow officers to use force not only on any citizen more so on children whether in a demonstration or otherwise," he was quoted as saying by Global News.
