A pupil is seen here with water on her face to cool off the effects of the teargas/MIKE KARIUKI
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 19 – It was an unusual protest along the busy Lang’ata road when hundreds of pupils from Langata Road Primary school brought down a perimeter wall erected on their playing ground.
The pupils had placards with various messages against the alleged grabbers of the land.
“Shame, shame, shame,” one of the placards read. Another was written; “Kenya, the land of shameless land grabbers.”
The ultimate goal was to bring down the wall, which they perfectly did but at a cost.
READ:IN PICTURES: Pupils teargassed as wall at Lang’ata school demolished
Teargas was lobbed at the children who wanted to gain access of the field which was heavily guarded by anti-riot police officers, a move that was widely condemned.
“Mummy, I need some water,” a pupil from the school was heard screaming due to choking from the teargas.
The pupils had just reported for classes after public schools re-opened Monday morning and wanted to occupy the field as soon as part of the wall was demolished.
The move led to a massive public outcry on social media with many condemning the use of tear gas to disperse unarmed school pupils.
Here are some of the tweets under #OccupyPlayGround hash tag: @stevenkariukimp “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children. Nelson Mandela #OccupyPlayGround.”
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