Kenyans protest detention of opposition lawyer

By Andrew Wasike and Magdalene Mukami

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - Hundreds of youths took the streets in western Kenya on Wednesday to protest the detention of opposition lawyer Miguna Miguna.

The youths barricaded roads with boulders and lit bonfires, causing a massive traffic jam in Kisumu, hometown of opposition leader Raila Odinga and Miguna.

They chanted "No Miguna, no peace" slogans and engaged the police in running battle.

Miguna has been detained at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in capital Nairobi and denied entry into Kenya, in a stand-off that has lasted for nearly two days.

In February, the self-proclaimed general of the opposition National Resistance Movement (NRM), Miguna was deported to Canada after being arrested for attending the mock inauguration of Odinga.

Kenya held two successive and tense presidential elections last year, which resulted in the deaths of more than 100 people, according to human rights organizations.

Also on Wednesday, a judge summoned the Kenyan Interior Minister and police chief over failure to produce Miguna in court.

Amnesty International has criticized Kenyan authorities for denying Miguna entry into Kenya.

"The way Miguna was treated showed blatant disregard for his human rights, after the High Court ordered that he be allowed to re-enter his home country," the international rights group said.

Odinga recently shook hands with Kenyan President Uluru Kenyatta and called for a truce, a move Miguna has termed a “betrayal for the people of Kenya".