Protesters in Kisumu, Kenya brought World Consumers Rights Day celebrations to a standstill on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. The event was organised by the Communication Authority but ended prematurely as exhibitors packed their belongings and left.
The protesters had just finalised their anti-government protest called by Kisumu Town Area MP.
The demonstrators stormed the venue in order to seek an audience with the ICT and Digital Economy CS Eliud Owalo. They claimed that Owalo was being used by President William Ruto to destabilise the region and go against Raila.
However, Owalo was not present at the function as CAK boss Ezra Chiloba officially opened the event. Chiloba and a host of other leaders were forced to leave in a huff after it became apparent that things were getting out of hand.
The residents, after realizing that Owalo was not present, went straight to the catering tent where they took the food, chased away the participants, ate everything and broke plates and cups in the tent.
One of the protestors as quoted by a local daily asked, “But where do these people get this sweet and nice food with these hard economic times?” Another asked those in the function why they were not participating in the demos. “You can’t come to Kisumu to celebrate while we are mourning meaning you people are happy this event will not go on,” he shouted.
At the main events podium, they stormed in and sat on the panelist chairs as others carried away seats, cameras, and even glass tools that were in the VIP section including the launch seat.
