Kenya Railways, a state-run corporation, has suspended commuter train services scheduled for Monday due to opposition rallies, a statement by the company revealed.
"We wish to inform our customers that due to unavoidable circumstances, commuter train services scheduled for Monday March 27, 2023 have been suspended," reads the statement.
However, company management added that All Madaraka Express link trains between Nairobi Central Station and the Nairobi Terminus would run as scheduled.
Earlier, Azimio la Umoja – One Kenya Coalition Party leader Raila Odinga representing the opposition to the incumbent leadership of Kenya called on the public to take to the streets every Monday and Thursday in Nairobi, the nation's capital, in order to protest against the
rising cost of living and
alleged fraud during the last presidential election won by William Ruto who got 1.7% more votes than the opposition leader.
Earlier, the opposition said it properly notified the police of the upcoming demonstrations, but Inspector General of Kenyan Police Japhet Koome, in turn, said the authorities would not let them take place, as cited by local media.
However, the statement by the police chief did not stop the opposition leader who remained defiant and vowed that the demonstrations would be held.
Koome had insisted that police did not approve any demonstrations even as Odinga and his team cited the provision of the country's Constitution which stipulates that police should only be notified without any confirmation in order to hold a demonstration.
Narc-Kenya party leader Martha Karua from the opposition bloc also said the law did not grant police powers to authorize any public demonstrations and warned the president against violating the Constitution.
In response to Odinga's speech over the upcoming protests banned by police, Koome, in turn, recalled the violent protests that took place last week.
"You all saw what happened last week and we won't allow that to happen again, where hooligans come to town to loot and destroy people's property and businesses," he said.
On March 20, Nairobi and Kisumu were subjected to opposition-led demonstrations, pursuing the same goals as the upcoming ones.
The protests descended into riots and triggered turmoil, forcing a number of businesses to close amid Kenya's
mounting economic problems, compounded by high inflation and the local currency's decline.
In order to maintain order in the country, police forces reportedly had to resort to using tear gas and water cannons to drive away the crowd, which threw stones at the police officers.
At the same time, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithuke Kindiki announced on Sunday that the government would propose a new law to set restrictions on holding public demonstrations and not to allow a repeat of last week's violent protests.
According to him, the new regulations will "cover notification procedures, duties of security agencies to protect the rights [of participants], demarcation of assembly, demonstration, picket and petition zones, among others."