Demonstrators march along the city streets as they head to Parliament Buildings.

Police broke up protests over the Constitution review in Nairobi, Kisumu and Nakuru yesterday as an amended draft was tabled in Parliament for debate.

Five civil society activists were arrested and teargas and water cannons used to disperse demonstrators who attempted to storm Parliament Buildings to protest against the changes to the draft constitution arrived at during the National Constitutional Conference at Bomas of Kenya last year.

And at least 20 people were injured in Kisumu as police engaged demonstrators in running battles along the streets. Anti-riot police charged at the crowds and clubbed the demonstrators, forcing businesses on Oginga Odinga Street and Jomo Kenyatta highway to close.

In Parliament, the chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on the review, Energy Minister Simeon Nyachae, tabled a Motion paving the way for the Attorney-General to bring a draft Bill today.

Amid foot thumping from the Government side and shouts of shame!, shame! and msaliti (traitor) from the Opposition, Nyachae tabled the amendments made to the Bomas Draft during the weekend retreat in Kilifi. He also tabled the Bomas Draft and the Naivasha Accord on contentious issues that was agreed on by representatives of political parties last November.

Members of Parliament are expected to debate the amended draft and either adopt or reject it. The AG will then draft a Bill that will be subjected to a national referendum.

In Nakuru, a group agitating for the Bomas Draft was dispersed from Nyayo Gardens by anti-riot police.

In Nairobi, five activists, who included Mr Koitamet ole Kina of Katiba Watch, were arrested after a confrontation with the police near Protection House on Parliament Road.

Police used several teargas canisters to break up demonstrations along Haile Selassie Avenue and outside Kencom House.

A water canon that was on standby came in handy in chasing and keeping at bay the protesters, numbering about 100, who shouted at police as they ran away.

Kenyans run for dear life on seeing a police vehicle approaching.

It was a show of might on the part of the Government as anti-riot police sealed all roads leading to the National Assembly.

Vice President Moody Awori’s motorcade was caught up in the confusion as police battled out with the protestors along Harambee Avenue. It raced through the crowd along Harambee Avenue that was engulfed in a cloud of teargas.

The anti-riot squad, led by Nairobi police boss King’ori Mwangi and his CID counterpart Sammy Githui moved from one point to the other, dispersing any group they came across.

About 500 Police officers were deployed around Parliament in the day-long operation that began at 4am.

Motorists and members of the public were denied access to the roads as police moved to stop the civil society activists from making good their threat to storm Parliament.

Harambee Avenue, City Hall Way, and Parliament Road were all sealed as police on horseback and officers from the General Service Unit patrolled the routes to block demonstrators.

Elsewhere in the city, hundreds of police officers patrolled the streets from early morning. Some officers were deployed at Uhuru Park where they remained the whole day. Others were under instructions to ensure that there was peace in estates.

Trouble started shortly after 2pm when Parliament proceedings began. About ten activists showed up from Professional Centre walking towards Parliament when police confronted them.

"Why are you blocking us? We just want to go to the public gallery and try to petition the House against what the MPs are trying to do on the constitution process," shouted ole Kina as police pushed them away.

After a short argument a Peugeot 504 station wagon stopped next to the group and Flying Squad officers alighted in hurry and picked up five of them as the others fled.

Nairobi area operations boss Alex Kamitu said the five would be released after recording statements with police.

"Take my word, they will be released as soon as they record statements," he said.

Chemi Chemi ya Ukweli official Otieno Ombok walks past teargas during yesterday’s demonstrations.

Outside Parliament, several Kanu and LDP legislators were seen criss-crossing the streets towards Haile Selassie Avenue to meet the protestors.

At one time MPs Musa Sirma and Peter Owidi engaged the police outside County Hall demanding to know what they were doing there.

"Why don’t you go to keep peace in Marsabit District instead of coming here to harass members of the public?" asked Sirma.

But the policemen only smiled back and the MPs walked towards the Professional Centre before they were joined by others.

By last night, police were still camping outside the House and said they would continue doing so today.

Kanu and the Liberal Democratic Party on Monday joined several civil society organisations in calling Kenyans to mass action to protest against changes to the draft constitution by a group of MPs last weekend.

They also threatened to block the PSC from tabling the report on the amended draft.

In Parliament, sources said the debate on the changes was not expected to go beyond today.

As Nyachae headed for the dispatch table yesterday, Speaker Francis ole Kaparo told Members he would expect them to hold themselves with the highest possible decorum during this time.

Nyachae tabled the Bomas Draft and a Report of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC) as adopted by the National Constitutional Conference on March 15, 2004. Also tabled were the PSC report and the Naivasha Accord.

His motion said in part; "That pursuant to provision of Section 27 (3) of the Constitution of Kenya Review Act Chapter 3A of the Laws of Kenya, the Attorney-General publishes a Bill, the Constitution of Kenya Bill 2005, based on the Draft Bill and amendments as contained in the report of the Select Committee." And the Government was taken to task over the heavy presence of police deployed in the city in anticipation of street protests by pro-Bomas draft groups.

Members of Parliament complained the deployment of the officers, many of whom in anti-riot gear, was intimidating and an unnecessary waste of public resources.

But Security Minister John Michuki warned the apparent show of might would go on as long as the Government felt there was threat to security. The declaration of mass action announced by Kanu and the LDP and civic organisations amounted to that, he said.

Said the Minister: "We normally don’t ask police to go to the streets unless there is a threat to law and order... the police made it known any talk of unlicensed demonstrations amounts to that and the questioner and others know it. What does he expect?"

He was referring to demands for a Ministerial Statement on the deployment that saw armed officers patrol the streets of Nairobi yesterday to preempt a scheduled march to Parliament by Kanu Secretary General William Ruto.

The Eldoret North MP had, among other things, demanded to know why the police were on the streets and why a number of "innocent" people had been arrested merely for wishing to stage their "right of expression."

The needless show of force had turned Kenya into a "police state", Ruto said, while misusing officers who could have been better utilised in combating insecurity in say, Marsabit.

"I want the Minister tell us what police are doing roaming our streets. When did he declare Kenya a police state? Couldn’t they be better used in Marsabit and other insecurity-prone areas like Marsabit?" the MP asked.

He called for the release of more than 60 demonstrators arrested in both Kilifi and Nairobi. They were protesting the weekend changes proposed to the Bomas Draft by MPs meeting under the PSC on the new constitution.

Tension was palpable in Parliament with the Government side trying to win the battle of nerves ahead of the real discussion and the voting of the motion today.

Twenty ministers and 22 assistant ministers turned up to witness Nyachae go through the formality of giving notice to the motion.

The changes proposing radical erosion of the Prime Minister powers in favour of a powerful presidency have infuriated proponents of the Bomas document who accuse the MPs of mutilating it.

Wundanyi MP Boniface Mganga (Ford-People) criticised the Government for "rolling back the democratic rights of the people of Kenya."

By releasing the police to the streets against its own citizens intending to hold peaceful demonstrations, the Government that bragged of a reformist agenda was trampling on their constitutional rights, he said.

Mandera Central MP Billow Kerrow said MPs found the heavy police presence around Parliament intimidating and not conducive to the business of the House.

Mtito MP Kiema Kilonzo (Ford-People) blamed police checks for his lateness to Parliament that saw a scheduled question he was to ask dropped on the grounds he was absent.

But Michuki, who will give a Ministerial Statement on the deployment tomorrow, said the police would be in the streets for as long as the Government felt law and order was threatened.