Nairobi Police Arrest 153 People During Africa Forward Summit

 Police in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, have arrested 153 people suspected of involvement in riots and other offenses during the Africa Forward summit, according to Nairobi police commander Issa Mohamud. After giving their statements, the detainees were released.

"While securing the international event, we arrested about 153 people for various offenses, including disorderly behavior, obstructing police officers in the line of duty, unlawful assembly, and failure to comply with police notification requirements under the law," Mohamud was quoted as saying by the local television station The Citizen.

The Nairobi police commander stressed that the arrests were made under the security measures taken by law enforcement to ensure order at the international event.

Earlier in May, Kenyan police arrested a group of activists in downtown Nairobi who attempted to disrupt the Africa Forward summit of heads of state due to the participation of French President Macron.

The Africa Forward summit took place on May 11-12. The event, dedicated to the partnership between Africa and France, was organized by Paris and Nairobi. The agenda included discussions on reforming the international financial architecture, energy transition, green and blue economy, digitalization, and other topics.

During the summit, Macron announced that France would direct €14 billion in public and private investment to African countries. According to him, the projects would create more than 250,000 jobs in France and African nations.