Catch me if you can.
That was the message some Kenyans sent to security officers on Saturday as they defied the dusk-to-dawn curfew set by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
While some couldn’t fathom a weekend without ‘one for the road’ – some alcohol – and chose to lock themselves in bars rather than go home, others could outdo children in playing the hide-and-seek game.
As if in a bid to spite police, some residents from Kayole engaged police in running battles as they went onto the streets then ran away when they saw officers.
On Saturday night, security agencies were out in full swing to implement the second day of the curfew.
The officers drawn from the GSU and Kenya police patrolled towns and major roads to keep watch for those who might violate the directive.
Last week president Uhuru Kenyatta declared a daily dusk-to-dawn curfew starting from 7:00 pm to 5:00 am.
On Friday there was mayhem as police used excessive force to disperse residents as the curfew came into effect.
In Mombasa, photos were seen of residents lying on the floor as others were beaten. Residents were rushing to go on to the ferry before 6:00 pm.
In a video that has sparked criticism over police brutality, police and the NYS were seen ordering women to lie down in water after being teargassed.
At the Likoni Ferry Crossing Channel, people were rounded up, roughed up and ordered to lie down.
In another video, journalists who tried to film the violence were not spared, some were assaulted by police though journalists and media houses are listed among those who are not affected by the curfew.
In Nairobi, many residents were stranded in the CBD after matatus to various routes closed shop by 5 pm.
Many commuters waited in long queues, hoping that a miracle would get them home on time.
They were whipped and scattered. Women screamed for help.
On Saturday night within several estates in Nairobi’s Eastlands area, things looked different.
In Umoja for instance, most residents tried to be home in good time. By 6.30pm, most of the streets were empty except for a few as a handful of people who were out doing their shopping.
By 7.05 pm, officers on patrol were on duty to ensure that no one was on the road.
However, what became a challenge for the officers was the fact that some residents, especially the youth had come up with clever ways to dodge them.
Some locked themselves in bars and others were partying on the rooftops of their houses.
Others, though not on the road, were enjoying their drinks in personal cars in various car parks.
Some would secretly sneak on the road after patrols, and those keeping vigil on their balconies would raise an alarm to alert them.
Mutura and soup bases have shifted from the main streets to back streets where lovers of the delicacies are kept busy till late in the night.
In Pipeline, those operating mini-bars acted as strategic hiding points for the youth.
As several of them gathered to enjoy a bottle, they used the night guards to keep vigil, and on the signal of these guards, they would switch off the lights.
As women and children cheered from the balconies of their houses, police were kept in running battles and shouting matches to scare those who attempted to defy the curfew.
While others peeped through small openings of their premises, others dared the officers by dancing on the road and dashing to their houses when the officers came.
In Kayole, with a high population, the officers had a rough time.
While the main streets were deserted, in the back streets things went on as usual.
For Kayole residents, nothing can come between them and their social lives. While the officers who are patrolling in pairs would be on one street, the residents would be on a different one.
In the CBD, most shops had closed by 6:00 pm. Although several commuters were left stranded on Friday night, matatu operators said by 5:00 pm, most commuters had left the CBD.
Most stages were packed between 2:00 pm and 4:30 pm.
It remains to be seen whether Kenyans will fall in line as days go by and stay at home during the curfew period as the country fights to contain the spread of coronavirus, with 38 confirmed cases so far.
