NASA supporters battle bees ahead of NASA 'oathing'

Mombasa County Speaker Harub Katri (in a white cap) addresses journalists and supporters of NASA before they departed from Mombasa to Nairobi to attend NASA leader's swearing in ceremony at Uhuru Park, January 29, 2018. [PHOTO/GIDEON MAUNDU/STANDARD].

Mystery surrounds the discovery of a swarm of bees that were found abandoned at Uhuru Park ahead of planned 'swearing-in' of Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka as the people’s president and deputy president respectively.

Witnesses said the bees were abandoned there by masked men who arrived in a canter and Subaru vehicles at about 4 am Tuesday morning.

The youths burnt some of the bees before throwing the box of bees into a pool of water.

More supporters started streaming in as early as 6am. Anti-riot police who were guarding Uhuru Park withdrew, though the reason for their action has not been known.

“We have been told to leave the park for NASA supporters to take over,” said one officer who asked not to be named.

Most Nairobi streets had few motorists and police on patrols were not as many as anticipated after the scale down.

The Opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) has urged its followers to come out for today’s swearing-in ceremony, which is scheduled to take place at Uhuru Park, Nairobi, even as authorities had earlier announced that it had been closed for maintenance.

This was after the Opposition created a "People's Assembly" to operate as a shadow government following Odinga's "inauguration."

The Opposition has been preparing for an inauguration to install him as a "people's president" and create an alternative government — in protest of the recent re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta.

NASA supporters were briefly detained in Voi as they drove in three buses from Mombasa to attend the event.

Police claimed the buses had traffic issues that needed to be addressed. Other passengers claimed police who stopped them demanded identification documents from them.

They were however freed to proceed on the journey several hours later.

The buses were among six that left Mombasa for Nairobi ferrying supporters to attend the swearing-in event.

Voi OCPD Joshua Chesire said the vehicles were seized for "traffic offences". They were stopped in Voi at around 3am, according to one of the supporters.