Kenya’s police said on Friday that four people had died as result of police intervention during opposition protests in the past two weeks, amid concerns violence will break out in the October 26 repeat presidential vote.
The re-run of the August 8 presidential election annulled by the Supreme Court is set for October 26.
Opposition leader, Raila Odinga, has pulled out, alleging a failure to improve oversight of the election, casting doubt on how the vote will proceed.
NAN reports that Odinga said on Tuesday he was suspending a protest campaign after three people were shot dead in demonstrations against Kenya’s election body.
He said: “In honour of the innocent victims of the state, our protests will stay suspended. On Friday, we will mark the memory of these victims as heroes of the struggle for electoral justice.”
The National Super Alliance coalition had earlier said the protests would resume on Wednesday after a one-day break to honour the victims.
Odinga said the party would communicate “our next course of action” on Friday.
Odinga launched a protest campaign against the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
He said the panel had failed to properly reform since the Supreme Court annulled an August 8 presidential election over irregularities in the counting process.
On Friday two protesters were shot dead by police in Odinga’s rural home of Bondo, in the west of the country.
Police commander Leonard Katana said the demonstrators were shot after attempting to “attack” the police station.
On Monday an 18-year-old man, whose mother insisted was not taking part in the protests, was shot dead in Kisumu.
The protests, concentrated in Kisumu but with smaller crowds seen in Nairobi and coastal Mombasa, have seen opposition supporters setting tyres alight, lobbing stones at police and in some cases looting stores and destroying property.
Security Minister, Fred Matiangi, banned protests in main cities on October 12, citing lawlessness from opposition supporters.
However, the country’s High Court suspended this ban.
No fewer than 1,200 people were killed in violence after a disputed presidential election in December 2007.
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