text:  Nairobi City Centre has been shut down. The streets are empty and shops are closed as protesters engage riot police in running battles. Shots of tear gas have rent the air as demonstrators defy attempts by police to disperse them. There's a heavy security presence in those parts of the city that are prone to violent protests. In the southern outskirts of Nairobi, the protests turned chaotic after hundreds of demonstrators barricaded roads with rocks and burned tyres. Protests have also spread to other cities across the country.