Nairobi, Oct 13 (AFP) Two protesters were shot dead todayas opposition supporters clashed with police in western Kenya,with hundreds defying a ban on rallies to express their angerover an increasingly uncertain presidential election.
In the town of Bondo, the rural home of opposition leaderRaila Odinga, a large crowd confronted officers outside thepolice station, scattering as live shots were fired.
Witnesses told AFP two were shot dead. "One person hadhis head shattered by a bullet while the other was hit on thechest," said eyewitness Sam Oguma.
"One of them has a large injury on the head and anotheron the chest. They are all lying there in a pool of blood,"said another witness Charleston Okelo.
The situation remained chaotic as police tried todisperse the angry crowd.
The protests come as Kenya is mired in confusion over apresidential election that is due to take place in less thantwo weeks, on October 26.
The country's Supreme Court annulled the results of anAugust 8 election -- won by President Uhuru Kenyatta -- citingirregularities in the counting process and mismanagement bythe Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
However, Odinga on Tuesday announced he would not takepart, accusing the IEBC of failing to make fundamentalreforms.
Odinga has argued that his withdrawal from the raceforces the IEBC to cancel the election and begin the wholeprocess from scratch -- allowing more time for his reforms.
But the IEBC appears to be pushing forward with plans forthe vote, saying only that Odinga had yet to submit therequired form to officially pull out of the race.
Kenyatta today signed a supplementary budget allocating12 billion shillings ($116 million, 98 million euros) for thenew election.
The government ban on protests has further angered theopposition National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition.
Security Minister Fred Matiangi yesterday banned ralliesin the centre of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, accusingopposition supporters of lawlessness after property wasdestroyed, passers-by robbed or assaulted, and businessdisrupted.
However, the opposition pushed ahead with protests today,and plans to stage daily rallies next week.
In Kisumu, the main city in the west which is Odinga'sstronghold, there were chaotic scenes as police fired teargasand gunshots rang out as protesters pelted them with stones.
Kisumu is just 50 kilometres away from BondoBurning tyres blocked main roads in the city, bringingbusiness to a standstill.
"We have the report of one person shot and he has beentaken to hospital," a senior police officer told AFP oncondition of anonymity. (AFP)RB.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.