In a new wave of protests, the angry citizens took to the streets alleging that the Kenyan government planned to sell the country's main airport to foreign investors.
Despite a police warning issued on Monday evening, the youth made an effort to enter the national airport on Tuesday morning to protest using the slogan 'OccupyJKIA'.
The youths erected barricades along the road leading to the airport in Embakasi, paralyzing transport.
Police were forced to lob tear gas canisters into the air to disperse the demonstrators and clear the road leading to the busy international airport.
Due to the anticipated protests, the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and national carrier Kenya Airways had advised passengers to arrive at JKIA at least four hours before their flights because of enhanced security checks.
The protests come a day after Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi denied plans to sell JKIA.
Mudavadi told the National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee that the sale of such a high-value asset can only be done after public memoranda and approval by parliament.
'The airport is not on sale. This is a public asset, a strategic asset. If it was going to be sold, you can only do it after a full public process that parliament endorses,' Mudavadi told MPs on Monday.
Mudavadi, however, noted that there are plans to expand the airport and build a new terminal.
'The Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) must look at its investment programme very carefully, make sure that everything is transparent. So that during the expansion process of the second terminal, let it be done through the legal process so that everybody knows what is going on,' he added.
The anti-government protests began last month with calls for President William Ruto to withdraw a bill that sought to introduce additional taxes on Kenyans. However, despite the withdrawal of the bill and even the dissolution of his Cabinet, the protesters changed course and are now demanding the President's resignation.
Over the weekend, the Kenyan Head of State vowed to crack down on the youthful protesters, saying 'enough is enough'.
President Ruto said on Sunday that going forward he will ''protect the nation'' saying he had already given everybody a chance to air their views.
"I dropped the Finance Bill, I called them to come to the table and talk to me, they refused and asked me to go to X, I went there but they ran away,'' Ruto said.
"I have called them for talks but they have refused saying they are faceless and formless.''
According to the Kenya National Human Rights Commission (KNHRC), the protests have so far claimed 50 lives. At least 20 of the victims were shot dead when angry protesters stormed Parliament buildings in Nairobi shortly after the passing of the Finance Bill on June 25 2024.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
