Rival youth groups fight as demo takes unexpected turn

Chaos after two rival groups clashed over venue of protests against condition of roads in Pipeline. One group demonstrated on Outer Ring Road while the other wanted the demo to be held within the estate. [Photo: Mireri Junior, Standard]

Chaos erupted in Pipeline estate after two factions fought over the right to hold a demo in the area.

A group said to have come from Pipeline Ward had staged a demonstration on Outering Road over what they described as the pathetic state of roads in Pipeline.

The youths lit tyres and blocked the road with boulders disrupting transport and business for close to an hour, a few metres from Taj Mall.

Another group opposed to the protest maintained that Outering Road was not the right place for such a demo as it is in Utawala Ward.

The group, composed mostly of youths working in food joints along the road, ordered their counterparts to remove the boulders and take their protest to Pipeline, but they declined saying it was within their right to picket.

“The roads they are referring to are inside the estate not here, the best place for them to picket is inside the estate,” said Dan a meat seller at the famous Irish Pub.

Seeking attention

The pub owners accused the demonstrating group of interfering with their business and urged the traffic police who were at the scene to clear the road and restore order.

“You cannot organise a demo on Outering Road yet the road in question is in Pipeline estate. Outer Ring Road is not in Pipeline Ward, but in Utawala,” said Ken Mwanzia who sells fruits along the road.

The other group argued that most of their leaders, including MP Irshad Sumra and Pipeline MCA Samuel Kagiri, have offices at Taj Mall, a few metres from where they staged their protest.

“We want to get the attention of the MP and the MCA and both have offices here, therefore we are right to hold our demo,” said one of the protesters.

The intense argument degenerated into a fistfight. The situation turned ugly after the youths resorted to using boulders and sticks to clobber each other, before riot police arrived. No injuries were reported during the fracas.

The youths accused Kagiri of failing to fulfill his 2013 promise to improve roads in the area.

“We are remaining with two months to the polls, no road has been repaired,” said William Mutua, one of the protesters.