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Teargas and chaos as Uhuru Kenyatta to be sworn in for disputed second term in Kenya

Posted: 28 Nov 2017 07:31 AM PST

Kenyan police fired teargas and clashed with both ruling party and opposition supporters on Tuesday as Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in as president after two disputed polls that have left the nation deeply divided. Mr Kenyatta was sworn in at the Kasarani stadium but the pomp and ceremony was overshadowed by chaos in another part of Nairobi, where police engaged in running battles with opposition supporters trying to gather for a rally. As foreign and local dignitaries poured into the 60,000-seat stadium the opposition attempted to gather for a "memorial rally" honouring the more than 50 people killed, mostly by police, in four months of political upheaval. However police fired volleys of teargas and beat opposition supporters, prompting running battles in the area, an AFP reporter said. Meanwhile at the Kasarani stadium chaos erupted as a crowd attempted to force its way into the venue, prompting police to fire teargas at Kenyatta supporters who tried to fight their way in. President elect Uhuru Kenyatta, waves to his supporters as he arrives at Moi International Sports Complex in Nairobi Credit: Sayyid Abdul Azim/ AP People celebrate as Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta takes the oath of office during his swearing-in ceremony Credit: BAZ RATNER/ REUTERS "I just want to see President Uhuru Kenyatta because I voted for him, why are we being beaten like NASA (opposition)," said Janet Wambua, who was among the angry crowd. Joseph Irungu of the interior ministry planning committee had said there was space for 40,000 people who did not get in to watch the event on big screens outside the stadium. However no such screens were provided, further angering the crowd. Country profile | Kenya In a speech to the crowds President Kenyatta vowed to be the leader of all Kenyans and work to unite the country. "I will devote my time and energy to build bridges, to unite and bring prosperity," he said . Around 13 mostly African heads of state were expected to attend the ceremony where Mr Kenyatta, 56, will be sworn in for his second and final five-year term. These include the presidents of South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia and Somalia - among others - while prime ministers, foreign ministers and special envoys will represent other African nations, as well as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Ukraine and Serbia. People fall as police fire tear gas to try control a crowd trying to force their way into a stadium to attend the inauguration of President Uhuru Kenyatta at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya November 28 Credit: BAZ RATNER/ REUTERS Two elections and a historic court case Mr Kenyatta's inauguration comes after the Supreme Court validated his victory in last month's rerun poll. However, the swearing-in may not draw a line under the country's political crisis with Mr Odinga vowing to fight on. The electoral strife goes back to an August 8 poll that was annulled in September by the Supreme Court, citing "irregularities and illegalities". The court ordered a rerun in October that was boycotted by the opposition, handing Kenyatta a landslide of 98 percent of votes cast by just 39 percent of the electorate. Supporters in the stand attend the presidential inauguration at Kasarani stadium in Nairobi, Kenya Tuesday, Nov. 28 Credit: Ben Curtis/AP The disputed election season has split the country along ethnic and regional lines, although political violence has not reached the scale of that which followed a 2007 poll when 1,100 were killed. Mr Odinga, denied the presidency for a fourth time this year, believes that he was cheated and the 72-year-old has refused to recognise the result. He has promised to found a "third republic" - following independence from Britain in 1963 and a new constitution adopted in 2010 - as well as to continue a programme of protests and economic boycotts aimed at undermining Kenyatta's "dictatorship". Supporters of President Uhuru Kenyatta engage in rock-throwing clashes with police at his inauguration ceremony after trying to storm through gates Credit: Ben Curtis/ AP The current political crisis draws on a deep well of social, ethnic and geographic grievances in the country of around 48 million people. In areas loyal to Mr Odinga, an ethnic Luo, there is a sense of having been ground down and discriminated against since independence, not least by Kenyatta's Kikuyu group, which has given Kenya three of its four presidents. The months of disruption and unrest, plus the holding of two separate elections, have badly affected the economy, hitting the poorest hardest while leaving the wealthy political elites relatively unharmed.