33 protesters fined Sh2,000 each for causing obstruction during fuel demos

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About 33 people arrested in Nakuru during the fuel protest were arraigned in court on Tuesday.

Twenty protesters who hail from Free Area and other estates, were fined Sh2,000 each or serve a 30-day jail term after they admitted to obstructing the city streets and the Nakuru-Nairobi highway.

One person denied the charge before Nakuru Senior Magistrate Vincent Adet and was released on a Sh5,000 cash bail.

They were said to have barricaded the highway with stones and lit bonfires, thereby blocking the free flow of traffic without lawful authority.

Among the accused was a man who admitted that the harsh economy forced him to take to the streets.

“The price of fuel and food, including tomatoes, has increased, but my little income in a day has stagnated. I beg for forgiveness, and I will not repeat the offence,” said the accused.

The other 12 accused who hail from Njoro, appeared virtually before the Senior Magistrate and admitted to participating in the protests.

They admitted to the charge of barricading the Nakuru-Njoro highway using stones and lit bonfires and were each fined Sh2,000 or serve a 30-day jail term .

Four of the 12 faced a second count of vandalising the windshield of a police vehicle. Two of the four admitted the charges and were each fined Sh5,000.

The remaining two denied the charge. They were each released on Sh20,000 bond, with an alternative cash bail of Sh5,000.

The case will be mentioned on June 4.

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