By DPA
Nairobi : Dozens of riot police were deployed to Kenya’s largest slum Tuesday as opposition supporters hurled rocks and burnt tires, demanding a new cabinet be named after weeks of wrangling over ministries.
In scenes reminiscent of post-election violence earlier this year, uniformed school-children were chased away by a truckload of riot police who fired tear gas at the protestors in Kibera, a Nairobi slum and opposition stronghold.
The protesters support opposition leader Raila Odinga, who is entangled in a stalemate over the country’s cabinet and has been unable to agree on ministry postings with President Mwai Kibaki despite a peace deal.
“They are protesting the whole story with the new cabinet. They want equal sharing. If not, there will be violence,” said a local resident, as rocks flew overhead.
Similar rioting shook the ordinarily peaceful East African nation after disputed elections in December, which unleashed ethnic violence that left more than 1,000 killed.
Kibaki and Odinga signed a peace deal in February that would create a coalition government but the goodwill has since faded and each leader has accused the other of impeding the political process.