As supporters on the National Super Alliance took to the streets of Kisumu to push for electoral reforms on Monday, the focus was on their running battles with police.
At the end of the day, only the man who was killed in Siaya and the scores who were injured were counted as casualties.
ECDE
But there were more, some who neither knew anything about the protests nor Raila Odinga’s push for systems and personnel changes at IEBC.
One group of these casualties is nursery school children in Nyalenda slums who were tear-gassed by anti-riot police.
The mid-morning corrosive assault on their eyes and nostrils came as they learned how to read and write.
The attack on St Peter’s Awich Kodingo ECDE was reminiscent of the tear-gassing of pupils at Lang’ata Road Primary School in Nairobi as they protested against land grabbing in 2015.
A video of the Nyalenda attack trended in social media for the better part of Monday night and early Tuesday morning, with Kenyans demanding accountability.
INJURIES
According to school’s founder Beatrice Schnelli-Okello, armed police “unlawfully” entered into the school premises and hurled teargas at the minors.
Three children sustained injuries as they stormed out of their classes.
“They attacked us without any due regard for the children aged between 3-7 years and staffers. It took the intervention of teachers and good Samaritans to evacuate and aid the little ones to safety,” she told the Nation on Tuesday.
Ms Okello lamented and questioned the motive of the officers in attacking the young children.
“It is unfathomable to involve innocent children, within school premises, and further risk their lives. The children are traumatised and some have suffered injuries,” she said.
The institution’s head teacher Eunice Odhiambo said the incident took place at 11am on Monday.
