By CYRUS OMBATI

Police were deployed at Uhuru Park for three months to ensure protesters did not access the historic grounds after ODM said it would hold a parallel presidential swearing-in ceremony.

Before the disputed results were announced, police had secured parts of Nairobi and started to restrict accessibility to some areas, especially the Central Business District.

Combined personnel drawn from the GSU, Regular and Administration Police were deployed at strategic areas. When the situation became worse, authorities went for recruits in police colleges and deployed them.

The first place to be secured was the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, where tallying of the votes was being conducted.

Police formed a human shield around the building for two days before the announcement. Only those with accreditation were allowed.

A special squad of GSU personnel led by the then Director of Police Operations David Kimaiyo was deployed to KICC.

And when the results were announced, everyone was driven out of the media centre as the Kimaiyo team took over the compound.

This was before the then Electoral Commission of Kenya chairman Samuel Kivuitu was picked up by another team of police and driven to State House.

Officers corner a man in one of the city slums and beat him. Many places were guarded when post-election violence erupted. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

A day later, ODM leadership, which had flatly rejected the results, announced it would convene a meeting at Uhuru Park and swear its candidate Raila Odinga (now Prime Minister) as the President.

It was then that more GSU personnel were brought to the park.

The personnel guarded it on a 24-hour basis and never left even when it rained.

Some of them have since complained they developed complications out of the conditions they were exposed to. ODM had announced it planned to hold a rally there and launch a million man march to State House to unseat President Kibaki.

This led to fears amongst the authorities that if Raila would be sworn in by any advocate of the High Court, it could lead to a constitutional crisis.

Even after the National Accord was signed between Kibaki and Raila on February 28, police authorities maintained security around the park for another month, amidst fears ODM could access it.

Before the signing ceremony, police had on several days clashed with protestors who wanted to march to the park. In the process, several protestors were shot dead especially in Kibera, Mathare and Huruma.

Some officers are accused of raping residents in slums, an accusation they deny.

Murder and rape

International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo accuses former Commissioner of Police Hussein Ali of murder and rape in connection with the alleged crimes his officers committed.

Moreno-Ocampo has also tried to link Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura to the crimes.

Police roadblocks were erected along Ngong Road, Juja Road and Muranga Road to check on motorists and pedestrians who came to the CBD.

Police then claimed they had intelligence some of the protestors planned to attack property in the city.