Pupils Rushed To Hospitals As Kawangware Protests Grow Violent

A fight between business protestors and police on Friday engulfed a number of students from Ndurarua Primary School in Kawangware Estate.

The pupils were in their morning classes when police officers engaged the traders in running skirmishes. The shopkeepers were reportedly protesting a decision by the Nairobi County administration to demolish their kiosks, which were believed to be built on footpaths and feeder roads.

The demonstrators had blocked roadways with barricades, burned tires, and torched posters, making it difficult for police to clear them. To scatter the vendors, the anti-riot police fired tear gas canisters.

There are reports that some of the canisters fell inside the school, sparking fear among the pupils who fled for cover. However, several of the kids were harmed by the canisters’ drenching teargas smoke, and some of them ultimately lost consciousness. In a video, students are seen being transferred to a police car to be taken immediately to the hospital.

They were subsequently transported to several hospitals in the Kawangware estate area, where they were treated for breathing problems. The pupils who persisted in school appeared to be in stable health and did not require immediate hospital treatment.

The demonstration also blocked access roads to Riruta, Wanye, and other Kiambu County locations. The situation has not yet been fully explained by police in a statement.