Kenyan comedian Eric Omondi has been arrested for attempting to gain entry into Parliament Buildings.
The funnyman was protesting the high cost of living alongside a group of youths. The protesters walked the streets of Nairobi shirtless.
They demanded audience with Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetangula.
Chanting “bado mapambano”, the protesters carried “Stima juu, maji juu, unga juu, tax juu” placards outside Parliament.
The group chanted songs to encourage young people not to rest on their laurels in the face of a fight for improved living conditions.
Police lobbed teargas to disperse the protesters who had engaged them in running battles for the better part of Tuesday afternoon, paralyzing traffic along the busy street.
Azimio la Umoja leaders who supported the demonstrators urged other Kenyans to pile pressure on President William Ruto’s administration over the country’s steadily rising cost of living.
“Welcome aboard Eric Omondi, more people will join our movement of change – the cost of living is too high,” Narok Senator Ledama Olekina tweeted.
The rate of inflation currently stands at 9 percent, according to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), hence the high cost of living.
In January 2023, the rate of inflation fell to its third-lowest in five months, from a high of 9.1% in December 2022.
