Chaos in Mombasa as police beat up residents hours before curfew – VIDEO

Police officers in Mombasa were on Friday caught on camera brutalizing members of the public hours before the 7pm–5am declared by the government to contain the spread of the coronavirus came to effect.

Videos capturing the chaotic scenes showed police officers clad in anti-riot gear lobbing teargas canisters near the Likoni ferry channel at around 5pm, as others clobbered innocent residents with batons as they ordered them to lie down on the ground.

The officers beat up hundreds of ferry users who had lined up to get into the ferries at the Likoni Channel which was set to be closed by 6pm, nearly triggering a stampede.

Police brutalise Kenyans in Mombasa hours before the curfew#CurfewKenya pic.twitter.com/BzR1KJ8WeB

— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) March 27, 2020

In the streets of Mombasa, the officers assaulted people as they flushed them out of the streets an hour before the national curfew.

The chaotic incidents have sparked a barrage of reactions with Kenyans taking to social media to condemn the government for the atrocities witnessed in Mombasa.

In other regions of the country, the situation was relatively calm even as thousands of commuters in Nairobi were left stranded at matatu termini due to the few PSVs in operation.