Kenya's police service says five people have been killed by mobs looting during "unauthorised" processions called to welcome opposition leader Raila Odinga back to the country after a trip abroad.
Reuters photographers had earlier counted two bodies with gunshot wounds sustained in the violence on Friday as police tried to disperse Odinga's supporters who walked alongside his convoy from the airport.
Police fired tear gas at the convoy and used water cannon as they tried to stop it reaching the capital's main business district. Some protesters threw stones at police. TV footage showed two vehicles on fire.
Police retreated several times along the route after the protesters were unmoved by the teargas and water cannon spray. They finally held their ground near the city's main park, where Odinga, just returned from the United States, intended to address a rally that had been banned.
He blamed in President Uhuru Kenyatta for the violence.
"My anger is with that guy called Uhuru Kenyatta. I went abroad... After you welcomed me well, he sent policemen to teargas you, to beat my people, to fire bullets at them. Isn't this barbaric?," he told his supporters after driving to safety.
Odinga has called for a "National Resistance Movement" to protest against the outcome of a repeat presidential election last month which saw Kenyatta win a second, five-year term with 98 per cent of the vote after Odinga boycotted the contest. Only 39 per cent of registered voters took part.
The repeat poll was ordered by the Supreme Court after it annulled the results of the August election, won by Kenyatta, over procedural irregularities.
The court will rule on Monday on cases that seek to nullify the re-run election.
The political crisis has stirred fears for the stability of Kenya, a regional hub for trade, diplomacy and security.
