State House security beefed up amid anti-government protests

Hundreds of heavily armed police officers were deployed in and outside State House, Nairobi in a 360-degree-like deployment, to safeguard the seat of power.

Roadblocks were erected along all roads leading to the house on the hill and traffic re-diverted causing major inconveniences.

The protester's primary objective was to occupy State House as part of escalating protests against the finance bill, signaling a lack of confidence in President William Ruto's administration.

By 6 am, police officers had positioned themselves on all roads leading to State House and cordoned off the structure.

Several layers of security personnel were deployed to maintain the safety of State House, with patrols around its perimeter operating continuously.

Motorists heading to town from Lavington and Kileleshwa were redirected at the Dennis Pritt round about as police set up initial roadblocks disrupting traffic flow.

The most affected were those using the Riverside and Arboretum sections, who were redirected back towards Uhuru Highway.

Processional Way was out of bounds to all members of the public with police mounting barricades and turning away pedestrians and motorcycles attempting to use the road. Accessing State House road through Jakaya Kikwete Road was also out of bounds.

Throughout the day, there was no visible traffic entering or leaving State House, indicating low activity during the Thursday protests.