COTU condemns teargassing of school children, terms it barbaric

Kenya: The Central Organisation of Trade Unions has condemned Monday's teargassing of pupils of Langata Road Primary school in Nairobi terming the action as barbaric.

COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli said the incident is characteristic of a lawless country, a move that could take Kenya back to the dark days.

"The incident in which innocent school-going children were teargased and forced to flee for their lives following their protest is reminiscent of a lawless country and should truly send every Kenyan into deep thoughts on where we as a county are heading," noted Atwoli.

In a press statement, Atwoli decried that the level of corruption and land grabbing has increased to unprecedented levels with no stern action being taken against the culprits.

"Individuals who have acquired immense authority are all and out on a grabbing spree and with impunity and continue to exhibit total lack of respect for the rule of law and towards any Kenyan Children alike as if this country has no legitimate government with full authority to govern," he added.

Atwoli called on President Uhuru Kenyatta to take stern action and reign in on all land grabbers and their accomplices to avoid an imminent back-lash from Kenyans.

"The President should bring to a stop this new emerging culture and trend where corruption is once again slowly but carefully being re-introduced as a people's norm in Kenya and as it is the case always, the people who will bear the heaviest of the burden are the tax payers," he said.

Atwoli who referred to a recent incident in Mombasa where an individual allegedly grabbed a section of the State House land as well the Tassia II Infrastructure Development Project whose fate is yet to be known, pointed out that the government has a Constitutional duty to protect and guarantee the property of every Kenyan.

"For the last one year, Kenya has witnessed several reported cases of grand corruption and grabbing of public land, but in all these cases despite the existence of overwhelming evidence, Kenyans continue to be treated to the usual theatrics like nobody knows who the private developer is nor individuals behind the registered company in question as the culprits go scot free," reiterated Atwoli.

He pointed out that even though the Tassia II project was fraudulent, newspaper advertisements continue to run in the local dailies demanding that tenants pay extra costs for the plots acquired and developed many years back while in the meantime, the very grabbers hovering over Tassia continue to aim their missiles at COTU and singling it out as the greatest impediment to the smooth execution of their evil plans.

"It is a pity and painful experience for all of us as Kenyans that 51 years  after our independence, we can still run to protest on streets on issues of grabbing of public land by individuals  well –connected and exercising their perceived and acquired authority with utmost impunity and that only through such protests, the government can intervene," concluded Atwoli.