Police Friday declared they had allowed organizers of the Saba Saba meeting at Kamkunji Grounds in Nairobi to go ahead with their plans.
Azimio La Umoja Coalition and groups of civil societies have called for protests on Friday, July 7 to mark Saba Saba Day, which is usually associated with the struggle for a multiparty system.
Rain and heavy presence of police greeted the start of planned Saba Saba events in Nairobi on Friday morning.
Police declared a meeting to mark the event at Kamkunji Grounds had been allowed to go on.
Police mounted roadblocks on roads around the State House ahead of the planned street protests in the city.
Officers deployed on the roadblocks were forced to retreat to their lorries and vehicles from the rains and cold experienced in the city.
Other officers were seen patrolling city streets and informing any group to disperse.
Nairobi police boss Adamson Bungei said they had allowed the organizers of the events to hold them at Kamkunji Grounds only and not in the central business district.
Some businesses remained closed in the morning hours most likely because of fears of chaos.
There were few pedestrians on the streets on Friday morning.
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Police dispersed a group that tried to stage a protest in Mathare slums Friday morning.
No one was injured but locals protested the police move saying it was provocative.
The protests will also mark the start of a new chapter to protest the high cost of living in the country occasioned by the political class after the passage of the Finance Act 2023.
The organizers said their protests to take place across the country will be peaceful.
Dozens of police were deployed to various places and at times braced for the cold and rains to inspect cars using the roads around State House, which scared some road users as they were inconvenienced for a while.
Dozens of new police officers were brought to Nairobi to back up those already in the city.
The move to block some roads scared some road users who have stayed away hence rendering it counterproductive.
