20100116
africanews

At least seven people were killed after Kenyan police fired on protesters demanding the release of a Jamaican-born Muslim cleric Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal, witnesses and officials said. Police blocked Muslim protesters who gathered in Nairobi after Friday prayers at Jamia mosque.

The protest organizers said that seven people have been killed in clashed between police and protesters.

A senior police officer who asked not to be named said to AFP that some of dead and wounded people have been shot.

“We cannot really tell who shot them because some of the protestors were armed and were shooting at our officers,” the officials said. He also told four police officers have been injured and treated to hospital. Another officials said another 10 people with bullet injures were hospitalized.

Protestors were shouting “release al-Faisal, he is innocent”, and wanted to present a petition to Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Immigration Minister Otieno Kajwang’s office but Police intervened and banned the demonstration.

Kenya's high court has also entered the fray, ordering that controversial Jamaican cleric Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal be produced in court.

Al-Faisal, who led to the violent clashes, is still stuck in Nairobi as top government officials went into negotiations with diplomats to enhance his deportation.

Al-Faisal spent his third night at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport after most airlines declined to deport him,

The first attempt to deport Al-Faisal to his home country on Wednesday night failed after an international airline declined to fly him because America was yet to grant him transit visa.

The airline was to make a stopover in Geneva enroute to Jamaica via Miami. This was after Switzerland agreed to grant the cleric a transit visa.

On Friday, sources said negotiations to have the cleric deported were going on.

Commissioner of police Mathew Iteere had on Wednesday met diplomats from the American embassy as part of negotiations to have the preacher deported.

Al-Faisal had been moved from the Industrial Area Remand prisons to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport police cells in readiness for deportation on Tuesday night but that did not happen.

Al-Faisal was locked up at the maximum remand prison after he was brought back from Nigeria at the weekend. He was enroute to Gambia where Kenya had deported him to when an airline in Lagos declined to fly him to Banjul.

But the Gambia, the destination of his last aborted expulsion bid, denied ever agreeing to accept him. The Gambian government has threatened to impound any aircraft that will fly the preacher to the West African nation.

Immigration minister Otieno Kajwang said they will not release the cleric because he is a threat to security of the country.

He said the law allows them to commit to jail anyone who is rejected by a country and brought back to the country.

The minister said Kenya decided to arrest and deport Al-Faisal after his name appeared on the international terror watch list and will not take risks to release him.

Kimathi said the preacher had been invited to Kenya by Muslim youths to give lectures.

Al-Faisal was deported last Thursday to Gambia through Nigeria but on reaching in Lagos, a flight that was supposed to fly him to Banjul declined to take him.

The cleric was first arrested by police at Nyali mosque in Mombasa on December 31.

He had been driven by road to the Namanga border point last week but immigration officials there declined to take him despite the fact he entered Kenya from Tanzania.

Al-Faisal who has called for Americans, Hindus and Jews to be killed - traveled from Nigeria and through Angola, Malawi, Swaziland, Mozambique, and Tanzania by road before coming to Kenya.

He served four years in Britain for inciting murder and stirring racial hatred by urging followers to kill Americans, Hindus and Jews