Police in Mombasa on Monday arrested several demonstrators who were protesting against a government directive that all cargo from the port of Mombasa be transported through the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).
Security officers were forced to lob teargas canisters to disperse the protesters under the First Action Movement group who had converged at Uhuru Gardens moving towards the Mombasa port.
The protests had caused a heavy traffic snarl up along the busy road.
The arrested protesters were taken to Central Police Station even as leaders of the lobby group insisted that they would not relent in their push to have the government quash the directive.
Civil society groups and business operators including cargo handlers have been staging since the introduction of the directive in August last year.
They insist that the directive is hurting businesses in the transport and hotel industries as well as other service sectors.
