Mock inauguration leads to crackdown in Kenya

The Kenyan government on Wednesday cracked down on opposition officials after opposition leader Raila Odinga staged a mock presidential inauguration. Tens of thousands of his supporters gathered in a Nairobi park Tuesday to witness Odinga’s “swearing-in” as “the people’s president.” Incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta officially began his second term in November, but opponents have rejected his presidency on grounds of election abuses. The Kenyan government cut live transmission of the ceremony by the country’s top three television stations and threatened to revoke their licenses. Interior Minister Fred Matiang’i said the stations would remain closed as the government launches an investigation that will extend to “conspirators and facilitators.” Alonzo Musyoka, a senior opposition leader and former vice president, said gunshots were fired at his home on Wednesday and a grenade detonated in what he called an assassination attempt. Musyoka said the attack happened hours after authorities blocked him from attending the mock inauguration. Peter Kaluma, lawyer for opposition leader T.J. Kajwang, confirmed authorities took Kajwang into custody for questioning by Nairobi’s criminal investigations department. Kajwang swore in Odinga during the mock inauguration.