NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan police on Thursday fired tear gas at protesters in Nairobi calling for the president's resignation as a new Cabinet was being sworn in, the latest in the deadly turmoil that has gripped the East African nation over the summer.
Protests in Kenya first erupted in June, with initial calls for legislators to vote against a controversial finance bill that was proposing increased taxes amid high cost of living. Antigovernment protesters stormed the parliament on June 25, drawing police fire after legislators voted to pass the bill.
More than 50 people have died since the demonstrations began, according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.
On Thursday, businesses in the city were closed and public transport vehicles remained out of the central business district. Police also set up roadblocks on major roads to Nairobi. President William Ruto's office, where the new ministers were sworn in, also remained cordoned off.
Police said 174 protesters were arrested Thursday and that protest organizers did not notify them of their intention to demonstrate.
''We ensured adequate deployment of security personnel and cautioned members of the public to avoid crowded areas that were likely to turn riotous,'' Acting Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli said.
The protests were organized by activists upset with Ruto even after he dismissed almost all of his ministers and added opposition members to what he called a ''broad-based'' government.
However, other major urban centers, including the lakeside city of Kisumu — an opposition stronghold that has previously witnessed protests — remained calm with some residents telling reporters they were not protesting because the opposition members had been incorporated into the new Cabinet.
