Anger as police tear-gas pupils in land demonstration

Police arrived at the venue of the planned demonstration against illegal acquisition of school land with guns, tear-gas canisters and fierce German Shepherd dogs yelping and snarling, baring their teeth at all around - including young children eager to reclaim their playing ground.

Minutes later the children would be crying under clouds of tear gas as all scampered away to safety at Lang'ata Road Primary School, Nairobi, with police hot in pursuit.

The pupils had returned to school two weeks late because of the teachers' strike, eager to start the year and as they waited for their teachers to organise their lessons, they were denied an opportunity to play in their field.

The children had left classes at around 10am for their break, and dashed towards the field's gate which was manned by the police. As they tried to force open the gate, cops opened fire tear-gassing the pupils and injuring some in the ensuing melee.

Instead of witnessing friendly banter and children playing, their first day in the playground became a battlefield where police deployed the same measure of brutality and display of force as they have done when cracking up political protests, facing unruly hawkers, or separating warring gangs.

In scenes reminiscent of Apartheid South Africa in 1977, images were seen of screaming children facing off with mean-faced police officers tugging along ferociously barking dogs.

The protests in South Africa were immortalised by captivating pictures of bleeding school children still in uniform being carried away from the protest zones which had been turned into battlefields.

Gasp for breath

Monday, when the police charged and unleashed their might, some of the pupils, unschooled in the art of protests, sucked in mouthfuls of the choking gas, leaving them gasping for breath. They didn't even know the basic tip of holding breath when in the thick clouds of the gas that burst open the tear glands and immobilise you by slowing down your breathing.

It took more than the snarling canines to scare away the pupils who taunted the police with their placards, screaming: "Kenya has become a country of shameless grabbers." Another ran: "You stole from our parents, now you are stealing from us!" Yet another exclaimed: "Mr Grabber, you will not live forever."

Some pupils were, however, overwhelmed and could been seen leaning against the wall, separating their school from the busy Lang'ata Road, writhing in pain as the police boots thundered past, raining blows on those who were not fast enough.

Hissing canisters with nasty tear gas liberally flew around the disputed territory as the defenceless children tried to use their bare hands to bring down a wall which had been erected in the playground they had been using for ages.

On hand to boost the pupils cries for justice, were human rights activists protesting the alleged grabbing of the prime piece of land which had until last December been used as a school's playground.

By the time the guns went silent, at least five pupils were nursing injuries as well as a police officer. Acting Inspector General of Police, Samuel Arachi, later told a stupefied nation that Lang'ata divisional police commander Elijah Mwangi, who had commanded the operation, had been interdicted.

The injured children were rushed to the nearby Lang'ata Hospital, where four were treated and discharged while a fifth was still admitted by the time of going to press. Two activists were arrested by the police for questioning. Government sources would later lament that the rights activists had erred by setting the children against the police, and also claimed the police too had been subjected to stoning.

There were light moments when a group of children and teacher who had played hide-and-seek with the police, triumphantly did a jig after part of the controversial wall was brought down. About 100 police officers mobilised from over six police stations in Nairobi, had been deployed to protect the plot.

The Lang'ata OCPD had a difficult time explaining on whose orders he was acting, even after he claimed that police were acting on a court order.

When activists and journalists challenged him to produce the court order, the OCPD changed tune saying police were only there to ensure peace and safeguard property. "I did not say anything about a court order; we are only here to secure life and property as is our mandate. We were aware of the planned demo and we did not want to just sit and watch," Mwangi said.

When asked who ordered his juniors to teargas pupils, Mwangi replied; "I am not aware of any tear gas to kids. There was nothing like that." And when asked if he was aware about injured pupils, Mwangi replied to the negative but insisted his officers had been injured.

Later, police chased Kibra MP Ken Okoth with other activists for a short while before giving up as the children broke in songs. The drama affected traffic flow on the busy Lang'ata Road.

Tension had began mounting early Monday morning when anti-riot police arrived at the gates of the school at 5am. By the time children reported to school, only teachers, pupils and parents were allowed to enter the compound.

The attack on the children scandalised the nation with Opposition leaders accusing the Jubilee government of being insensitive to the plight of children.

CORD leader Raila Odinga and ODM Secretary General Ababu Namwamba led in the condemnations. Ababu likened the incident to the South Africa Apartheid era massacre of school children in the 1970s. "I condemn in the strongest terms possible the barbaric use of excessive police force against little unarmed children at Lang'ata Road primary school," he said.

"We cannot allow known, vile land grabbing bandits to steal the destiny of our children encapsulated in our new constitutional order. Shame! Shame! Shame!"

Raila said he had learnt with extreme shock and shame that the pupils have been injured after police threw tear gas canisters at them and other well-wishers who joined them to protest the grabbing of their school's playground. "This is brutality beyond words and greed beyond description. It is difficult to believe that police can actually deploy against primary school children and lobby tear gas at them to defend a land grabber."

"This image of a nation determined to steal forcibly from its own children cannot be what we aspire to. It cannot be the legacy we want to bequeath the children," the former Prime Minister said in a statement from New Delhi, India.

He said:"Greedy, acquisitive and heartless we may be but we surely can stand up for the children."

By Monday it was unclear who the powerful grabbers are that police were willing to use force to punish innocent school children. Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu and National Lands Commission (NLC) Chairman Muhammad Swazuri have maintained the two acre-plot rightfully belongs to the school.

Activist Boniface Mwangi and a Mr Okoth planned to stage a protest there dubbed #OccupyPlayGround aimed at reclaiming the land from the private developer.

Swazuri led NLC commissioners on a visit to the school and said preliminary investigations reveal the land belongs to the school. He explained that NLC would review all land ownership documents given to individuals to verify their authenticity.

"The school was allocated the land in 1972. The Airport View Housing company acquired their title deed in 1995. We will summon Airport View directors to come and explain how they acquired the title deed," Swazuri said.

He said the commission and the Nairobi County government would ensure children access the playground. Swazuri said Kenyans should not be emotional when dealing with land issues, but should look at what the law says.

ODM demanded President Uhuru Kenyatta apologise over the incident. "We cannot allow known land grabbers to steal the destiny of our children captured in our new constitutional order. It is shameful," said Namwamba.