At least four people have been found dead in a Nairobi slum, sparking riots with residents clashing with police on the eve of the Supreme Court of Kenya ruling on the October 26 presidential election.
The four victims - three men and a woman - were found on the streets of the slum of Mathare, one of the areas where riots erupted after the August 8th presidential election, which was overturned by the judiciary and new elections were held in October.
Nairobi Police Chief Jafeth Koume clarified at a press conference that the four victims had bruises and one of them also had stab wounds.
The opposition, however, claims that all four were killed by bullets. Clashes broke out between police and Mathare residents when news of the four dead spread. Three vehicles, including a bus, were set on fire.
Koumeh said additional police forces had been deployed in the slum. Reporters from the French Agency found out that tankers that have the ability to launch water under pressure are also parked in Mathare.
Riots also broke out in the Quibera slum, also in Nairobi, when protesters gathered to express their anger over the events in Mathare. "What is happening is completely unacceptable.
"These are violent incidents instigated by the state to intimidate the supporters of the opposition coalition," opposition leader Raila Odinga told Mathari, urging religious authorities and the international community to intervene "before the situation worsens."
A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said slum dwellers believed the killings were politically and ethnically motivated and suggested the gang members, the Mungiki, were the perpetrators.
The Mungiki are a notorious criminal organization whose members belong to the Kikuyu tribe, from which President Uhuru Kenyatta also hails. In recent years, the term Mungiki has been used more broadly to describe Kikuyu armed groups.
The population of Mathare is mixed: in the slum, the Kikuyu live with members of the Luo and Luchia tribes, whose leaders are key members of the opposition. Odinga comes from the Luo tribe.