Nairobi: Hundreds of Kenyan students marched through downtown Nairobi on Tuesday to honor those who died in an attack on a college by Islamic militants and to press the government for better security in the wake of the slaughter.
The raucous crowd of about 250 jogged down main thorough fares in Kenya's capital, sometimes sitting in traffic circles and intersections, backing up traffic for blocks and attracting bystanders.
The demonstrators denounced Somalia's al-Shabab extremist group that carried out the attack last week on Garissa University College that killed 148 in northeastern Kenya. "Comrades are tired of al-Shabab," said one placard.
Other signs said: "You remain in our hearts!" and "RIP comrades."
The protesters stopped at President Uhuru Kenyatta's office building to present their demands, which include state compensation for the families of the victims who died in the Garissa attack, the construction of a memorial for the dead and better security on campuses and in Kenya as a whole.
March organizers sought to control the singing, chanting crowd.
"We might be next," said Walter Mutai, a 22-year-old statistics student at Moi University. "These people, they can target anywhere."
"We are not safe," the demonstrators chanted.
On one road, the students passed a truck carrying security forces with red berets and rifles.
"Where were you?" the students shouted angrily. The troops did not respond.
They also banged on the sides of a police vehicle and converged briefly outside Kenyan police headquarters, again shouting: "Where were you?"
"We want guns," they cried.
Kenyatta's government has faced criticism for an allegedly late response by its security forces to the assault on Garissa college.
