Six arrested over COVID-19 funds demonstrations

By Mourice Seretta

Six people were arrested today in Mombasa after they staged a demonstration over the misappropriation of COVID-19 funds.

Police used teargas to disperse the protestors who had brought business in the Coastal town’s Central Business District to a standstill, paralyzing business and activities in the busy town as the rowdy protestors engaged police in running battles.

The protestors marched to Mombasa’s Central Police Station to secure the release of their colleagues but to no avail.

Police insist that the demonstration was not sanctioned hence the move to disperse the protestors but the organizers of the demo insist that they had notified the relevant authorities over the protest which they say was peaceful until police came in to disperse them.

‘Police are being used to disperse by the powers that be and we had notified them of the demonstration today. We can not sit and watch when money meant for a good cause is being misappropriated. Police need to bring to book those involved in the scandal but not to use teargas to disperse us. They need to channel their energies to the culprits and not us peaceful demonstrators,’ Said Swaleh Abdalla, one of the organizers of the protest.