Protesters and police in\u00a0Kenya\u00a0have clashed after the leader of the opposition claimed he was cheated of victory by a hacking attack that he said manipulated the results in the country\u2019s presidential election.<\/p>\n
Raila Odinga, the leader of the National Super Alliance, said election commission computer systems and databases were tampered with overnight to \u201ccreate errors\u201d in favour of rival candidate Uhuru Kenyatta, who has been in power since 2013.<\/p>\n
Odinga urged his supporters to remain calm, but added: \u201cI don\u2019t control the people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can only cheat the people for so long,\u201d he said. \u201cThe 2017 general election was a fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n
With ballots from 96% of polling stations counted, results released by Kenya\u2019s electoral commission show Kenyatta leading with 54.4% of the vote, against Odinga\u2019s 44.8%, a difference of 1.4 million votes.<\/p>\n
The electionis\u00a0seen as a key test of the stability\u00a0of one of Africa\u2019s most important countries.<\/p>\n
Across most of the country streets were empty, most businesses remained shut and an uneasy calm prevailed. The violent incidents were limited, raising hopes that Kenya may avoid a major breakdown of law and order.<\/p>\n
In the western city of Kisumu police fired teargas at a group of 100 opposition supporters who had been chanting: \u201cNo Raila, no peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Protests were also held in the poor Nairobi neighbourhood of Mathare, an Odinga stronghold.<\/p>\n
At about 2pm, two young men were killed and five injured when police opened fire on demonstrators who had blocked a road, a witness told the Guardian.<\/p>\n
Japheth Koome, Nairobi police chief, said the men who had been shot were thieves.<\/p>\n
Scattered clashes in Mathare continued throughout the afternoon, with groups of youths hurling rocks at police who responded with teargas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want them to hear. They won\u2019t hear us shouting. So we will use stones. We know our rights and they can\u2019t kill us all,\u201d said Kevin Odhiambo, a 25-year-old carpenter in Mathare.<\/p>\n
But others from the neighbourhood branded the protesters \u201ctroublemakers\u201d.<\/p>\n
A third death occurred when police opened fire in Kisii county, 300km west of the capital.<\/p>\n
Kenya Railways suspended operations of trains on its recently launched line from Mombasa to Nairobi \u2013 a flagship infrastructure project \u2013 until further notice.<\/p>\n
In 2007, Odinga\u2019s angry rejection of the result in an election marred by irregularities\u00a0prompted rioting and retaliation\u00a0by security forces that tipped the country into its worst crisis for decades. About 1,200 people were killed in the ethnic violence that followed.<\/p>\n
Odinga, a polarising figure who was making his fourth bid for power, also claimed that the murder of a senior election official last week was linked to the alleged hacking attack. Chris Msando, the election commission\u2019s head of IT,\u00a0was found strangled and tortured\u00a0in a forest on the outskirts of Nairobi.<\/p>\n
Odinga, 72, said Msando\u2019s identity and log-ins had been used to access key computer servers by those behind the rigging attempt.<\/p>\n
The EU observer mission declined to comment on Odinga\u2019s claims, which election officials have said they will investigate. \u201cWe will come up with a methodology to verify the allegations made on hacking,\u201d said Waguma Chebukati, the chair of the electoral commission. \u201cFor now, I cannot say whether or not the system has been hacked.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Kenya human rights commission \u2013 a well-known non-governmental organisation \u2013 said it had discovered some discrepancies in an initial comparison between provisional results announced by the election commission and paper forms signed at polling stations by party agents.<\/p>\n
In coming days, election officials will present more forms allowing further scrutiny of the results.<\/p>\n
Many Kenyans say a repeat of the violence of 2007 is unlikely as the country has learned from the traumatic experience. One voter told the Guardian during polling that younger citizens wanted \u201cpeace, peace, peace\u201d.<\/p>\n
In 2013, Odinga also rejected defeat. He took his fight to the courts\u00a0and lost.<\/p>\n