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Business came to a standstill yet again in the Nyanza region as the second wave of anti-government demonstrations kicked off yesterday.

A spot-check by People Daily also established several shops were closed as police battled the protesters to keep them at bay and avoid destruction of property or looting.

Most businesses did not open as uncertainty gripped the region, which witnessed a high turn up in the demonstrations led by local leaders.

The demonstrations also paralysed the transport system on all major roads in the region that literally came to a halt as no vehicles could be seen in traffic.

In Kisumu City, for almost the whole day, the streets were turned into a battlefield between police and demonstrators.

Property of unknown value was destroyed in the Jua Kali area in Kamas that went up in flames when suspected arsonists set ablaze the spare part structures at the garages.  This was the second time mysterious fire broke out the Kisumu’s Jua Kali area after last week’s incident that left a trail of destruction. Furious mechanics in response, hurled stones at the police as they dashed to the area to help extinguish the fire and try to salvage some of the valuable goods in flames.

But they virtually saved nothing in the raging fire that spread very fast to the adjacent structures destroying millions of shillings worth of valuable goods and other investments.

Accessing CBD

Efforts by the demonstrators led by Kisumu Central MP Joshua Oron to gain access to the Central Business District (CBD) and match all the way to Nairobi Road were repulsed.

Police lobbed tear gas canisters forcing the leaders to take to their heels and to run parallel to the tear gas that rented the air. For hours it was hide and seek game.

Oron was flanked by a number of MCAs led by County Assembly Chief Whip Seth Kanga, Nyalenda  B and Kajulu MCAs James Were and Ben Adega.

Police trailed them everywhere as they went around the town just to ensure that business, as well as transport activities, were uninterrupted. Oron said they were acting in solidarity with Azimio One Kenya Coalition leader Raila Odinga’s calls to push the State to lower the cost of living.

Deserted roads

The usually busy Kisumu-Nairobi, Kisumu-Busia and Kisumu-Kakamega highways were deserted as motorists kept off the usually heavily trafficked road. Several sections of the main roads were barricaded by the protesters who used stones and boulders to cut off movement rendering them impassable for motorists/riders.

And most streets within the lakeside city including Kondele town remain empty ahead of the protests, until later when crowds tried to gather and were scattered.

Similarly, learning was paralysed in most schools which remained shut in fear of the safety of learners, who remained at home as advised earlier by the Government.

On Tuesday, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu and his  Interior counterpart Prof Kithure Kindiki announced the temporary closure of day public schools in Kisumu alongside, Nairobi, and Mombasa cities as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of school children. Some teachers in Kisumu expressed their displeasure with the foregoing situation, saying it was not conducive for learning to take place.  It also interfered with academic calendar and co-curricular activities, which by coincidence cant take place now because of the demonstrations and have to be re-programmed.

Call for ceasefire

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the teachers called for a ceasefire between the warring parties to resolve the current political standoff pitting the state versus the people.

“The political situation in the country is tense and this is posing ripple effects to the education sector. We ask the leaders to agree to end this stalemate,” said a teacher.

It was a similar gem in Homa Bay, Migori and Siaya counties, where businesses and transport were also paralysed in most towns and trading centres. In Migori scores of people suffered injuries, with two being shot on the leg and hand with rubber bullets. They were rushed to Oruba Nursing Home. Oruba Nursing Home Medic Mike Ochere confirmed to the press that two people were admitted at the facility with gunshot wounds and others with bruises.

‘’They are being treated and so far I can say they are in stable condition,’’ said Ochere. In Rongo town, scores sustained bruises in running battles with police.