Kenyan opposition vows not to relent amid poll dispute
At least eleven people have been killed in violent protests following Kenya's presidential election. The opposition claims the death toll is 100, but gives no proof.
Woman cries as she stands behind policemen during clashes between supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga and policemen, in Kibera slum, in Nairobi, Kenya on August 12, 2017.
Kenya's defeated opposition coalition vowed late on Saturday that they would not halt their bid to overturn a "sham" election result, which sparked violent protests that have left 11 people dead.
Protests flared in opposition bastions as soon as President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the victor on Friday night after an election his rival Raila Odinga claimed was massively rigged.
Kenya is no stranger to post-election violence, and scars still run deep from a disputed 2007 vote which led to two months of ethno-political clashes, leaving 1,100 dead and 600,000 displaced.
However protests remained isolated on Saturday, with several hundred demonstrators engaging in running battles with police who quickly dispersed what Interior Minister Fred Matiangi referred to as "criminal elements".
The opposition National Super Alliance (NASA), led by four-time presidential hopeful Raila Odinga, put the death toll at more than 100, including 10 children, but did not provide evidence. James Orengo, a top member of the NASA opposition coalition, said police had provoked the violence.
Matiangi denied there had been any casualties, and said police had clamped down on "erratic incidents of lawlessness," adding the government would stop at nothing to protect citizens.
"The police have not used live bullets on any peaceful protesters," he said.
Human Rights Watch on Saturday urged police to show restraint.
"The police should not use tear gas or live ammunition simply because they consider a gathering unlawful," said Otsieno Namwaya, Africa researcher at HRW.
The NASA opposition coalition has not laid out its plans, but has refused to take its grievances to court and said on Saturday that they would not back down.
"We will not be cowed, we will not relent," NASA official Johnson Muthama told reporters, describing a police crackdown on protests as an effort to force the coalition "into submission".
"We wish to assure the people that we have the will, the determination, and the means to make sure your vote will count at the end of the day," he said.
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