KISUMU, Kenya, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were shot dead and three others sustained gunshot wounds in Western Kenya on Friday during demonstrations to press for reforms at the electoral body.
The three teenagers were shot on the head and abdomen in Bondo town when they allegedly tried to confront police officers chasing them out of town during protests called by Kenyan opposition National Super Alliance (NASA).
Area police commander Paul Kiarie said some stormed the police station armed with crude weapons during protests against the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC).
"The three were shot dead while three others are nursing bullet wounds after storming Bondo police station armed with crude weapons," Kiarie said.
Bondo lawmaker Gideon Ochanda condemned the killings, saying the police should exercise restraint as they disperse the demonstrators. Bondo is the hometown of opposition leader Raila Odinga.
On Friday, protests also rocked Kisumu, Siaya, Ugunja, Homa Bay and Migori. A 73-year-old woman was among three shot and wounded in Migori town, where protests hampered transport and forced shops there to close down.
The young protestors barricaded major roads leading to and out of Migori town. The main road leading to the police station was also blocked.
Transport was paralyzed in the lakeside city of Kisumu as youth lit bonfires and barricaded roads using rocks and burning tyres amid heavy security presence.
Interior CS Fred Matiang'i on Thursday banned NASA protests in Nairobi, Kisumu, and Mombasa.
Matiang'i said he had banned the demos from the city centers to protect Kenyans and their property, but opposition leaders vowed not to budge, saying demonstrating and picketing is their constitutional right.
Business community have condemned the protests for having turned into a looting spree, accusing them of hurting businesses.
