Youths engage at Nyandiwa shopping center, Homa Bay town after goons stoned Linda Mwanachi convoy. [Sammy Omingo, Standard]
Violence erupted in western Kenya early Sunday, an AFP journalist said, ahead of an opposition rally where leaders had warned they could face attacks by armed thugs.
The country is due to hold national polls in just under a year, with President William Ruto seeking a second term.
Opposition politicians have warned of an increasingly hostile environment, and observers have voiced concerns about the use of armed thugs -- known in Kenya as goons -- to disrupt political gatherings.
The opposition Linda Mwananchi movement, a group seeking to galvanise dissatisfaction over Ruto's tenure, plans to hold a rally with potential presidential aspirant Edwin Sifuna on Sunday in Homa Bay.
An AFP journalist described chaotic scenes early Sunday morning in the centre of town, with goons attacking passersby and snatching valuables.
Scores of men, some armed with sticks and machetes, were moving through streets, and some had lit tyres or constructed makeshift barricades on the main road.