Kenyan police today tear-gassed schoolchildren protesting against a politician's alleged move to seize their playground and turn it into a car park. Pupils from Langata Road Primary School in Nairobi were at the front line of protesters pulling down a wall thrown up around their playground after it was acquired by a private developer. At least 10 children were taken to hospital with injuries, including tear gas exposure to their eyes, Bloomberg reported citing local MP Kenneth Okoth. Tonight Nairobi's police chief said he had suspended the officer in charge of the protest. Scroll down for videos . Playground politics: Schoolchildren push the fence to enter a playground during a protest against alleged land grabbing at Langata Road Primary School in Nairobi. Activists, joined by pupils, brought down the perimeter walls claiming that the playground belongs to the school . Smash it down: The impassioned young pupils beat the metal fence blocking access to their playground with rocks . Dislikes authority: The pupils and activists pulled down a wall thrown up around their playground by the private developer . Fight the power: The view from above shows how riot police fortified the gates to the playground with heavy blocks . Another brick in the wall: Students and activists push down the wall that was put up around the playground over the Christmas holidays . Under attack: A tear gas canister spews noxious, burning fumes in the midst of the children as police move in . Save the children: A man picks up a tear gas canister in an effort to move it away from the crowd of schoolchildren it was lobbed at . Bullyboy tactics: The children flee alongside activists and journalists after police lobbed tear gas at them to clear the area . In such an incident tear gas should not have been used because the protests were not violent, acting police chief Samuel Arachi said. He said five people have been arrested; three for vandalism and two for incitement. 'We will never allow officers to use force not only on any citizen more so on children whether in a demonstration or otherwise,' he said. Kenyan human rights activist Boniface Mwangi told the Associated Press that the developer on whose orders the playground was snatched was a powerful politician. 'The governor, the senator and other government officials are all scared of the politician, they cannot do anything to stop the playground from the being taken,' Mr Mwangi said. Dozens of pupils aged from six to 13 joined in the protest, carrying placards proclaiming 'Land grabbing is terror against children', 'Kenya at 51 it's about our future', and 'Kenya: the land of the shameless grabbers'. Together with adults who were present, the boys and girls pulled open tall metal gates which had blocked access to their school playground before running into the space. Once inside they pushed down at least one other wall put up to cordon off the site. About 40 police officers in riot gear then faced off with the children before hurling tear gas canisters into their midst. Works democratically with peers: Delighted schoolchildren  run into the playground after breaking the wall illegally erected around it . Works well with friends: The youngsters, who were aged from six to 13 years old, had stormed their former playground holding placards aloft after smashing down walls and forcing open a tall metal gate with the help of adult activists . Displays good citizenship: The children had a range of placards decrying the corruption of senior politicians in Kenya's ruling coalition . Expresses ideas clearly: Boys and girls shout and wave placards after helping to smash the wall put up around their playground . Can sometimes be cheeky: Youngsters rally around a placard calling for their parents' generation to be more politically active . Doesn't listen to instructions: Children stand on the half-demolished wall with their placards as a riot policeman stands before them . Uses vivid language when writing: Schoolboys face off against a dog handler after riot police moved in to clear them away . Children screamed as police officers in riot gear and waving truncheons pushed them back, some panicking as they sought water to wash their burning eyes. Television footage showed children, some being carried away, writhing in pain, sobbing and gasping for breath because of the tear-gas. Dozens of children were caught in the choking clouds of tear gas before being forced to shelter on a pedestrian bridge over the main road to escape the noxious fumes. Police officers later brought dogs to the playground. One policeman was pictured holding a tear-gas launcher in one hand and a truncheon in the other, as blood streamed down his face after he was hit in the face with a rock. Excitement: Children rush past riot police as they seize control of the playground which had been snatched by developers . Rush: The children had returned to school for the first day back since Christmas and found their playground walled off . Future freedom fighters: With the help of activists they snatched back control of the site until police moved in with tear gas . Police spokesman Masoud Mwinyi was not available for comment. A senior police officer at the demonstration, Mwangi Kuria, told Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper that officers had been deployed to 'safeguard the property', adding that rocks had been thrown at his men. 'This is disputed land, but they should not use the children,' the policeman was quoted as saying. Two activists were detained by police, Kenyan media said. Macharia Njeru, chairman of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, said the incident would be investigated. 'Teargassing children is inexcusable,' he said. The incident has sparked outrage in Kenya and on social media where critics have been commenting on it under the hashtags 'OccupyPlayGround' and 'LangataPrimary'. Opposition leader Raila Odinga accused the police of 'brutality beyond words' and the developer of 'greed beyond description'. 'It is difficult to believe that police can actually deploy against primary school children and lob tear gas at them to defend a land grabber,' Mr Odinga said. 'This image of a nation determined to steal forcefully from its own children cannot be what we aspire to. It cannot be the legacy we want to bequeath the children.' Confident when faced with challenges: Schoolchildren face off against a riot police officer carrying a long stick . But accepts help graciously: Activist Boniface Mwangi joins the schoolchildren and the policeman is forced to retreat . And stay away! The children wave sticks at the policeman in military fatigues, as Mr Mwangi continues pointing him away from the site . Hmm, surely not called for? A police officer fires tear gas towards the crowd of children inside the playground during the protest . Fightback: Protesters take on the riot police surrounding the school as children attempt to occupy the playground . Fury: The scuffle can be seen here from another angle as adults angry at the police targeting children take on the riot officers . Comeuppance: What looks like the same police officer is seen with blood streaming down his face after he is hit with a rock . And for the cows, life goes on as normal: Cattle walk amidst teargas fired by riot police during the protest . The demonstration came as reports emerged in local media that Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko had filed a court action to try to reclaim the playground. Mr Sonko told The Star that he had instructed lawyers to seek a court order to compel the developer to return the land to the school. Opposition politician Eliud Owalo said last week that the playground had been grabbed to construct a parking lot for the politician's hotel adjacent to the school. According to the organisers of today's demonstration the playground, which had been owned by the school since 1972, was fenced off over the Christmas holidays by a 'group of professional land grabbers' linked to a senior politician. 'Langata Road Primary School playground has been grabbed by a group of known professional land grabbers acting on behalf of a very senior politician in the (ruling coalition) Jubilee government', said activists in a statement .
Pupils from Langata Road Primary School were among crowd protesting playground wall .
At least 10 children were injured after police moved in with dogs and tear gas to clear the area .
Local activists allege the site has been snatched by a powerful politician in the  government .
Kenyan police today tear-gassed schoolchildren protesting against a politician's alleged move to seize their playground and turn it into a car park. Pupils from Langata Road Primary School in Nairobi were at the front line of protesters pulling down a wall thrown up around their playground after it was acquired by a private developer. At least 10 children were taken to hospital with injuries, including tear gas exposure to their eyes, Bloomberg reported citing local MP Kenneth Okoth. Tonight Nairobi's police chief said he had suspended the officer in charge of the protest. Scroll down for videos . Playground politics: Schoolchildren push the fence to enter a playground during a protest against alleged land grabbing at Langata Road Primary School in Nairobi. Activists, joined by pupils, brought down the perimeter walls claiming that the playground belongs to the school . Smash it down: The impassioned young pupils beat the metal fence blocking access to their playground with rocks . Dislikes authority: The pupils and activists pulled down a wall thrown up around their playground by the private developer . Fight the power: The view from above shows how riot police fortified the gates to the playground with heavy blocks . Another brick in the wall: Students and activists push down the wall that was put up around the playground over the Christmas holidays . Under attack: A tear gas canister spews noxious, burning fumes in the midst of the children as police move in . Save the children: A man picks up a tear gas canister in an effort to move it away from the crowd of schoolchildren it was lobbed at . Bullyboy tactics: The children flee alongside activists and journalists after police lobbed tear gas at them to clear the area . In such an incident tear gas should not have been used because the protests were not violent, acting police chief Samuel Arachi said. He said five people have been arrested; three for vandalism and two for incitement. 'We will never allow officers to use force not only on any citizen more so on children whether in a demonstration or otherwise,' he said. Kenyan human rights activist Boniface Mwangi told the Associated Press that the developer on whose orders the playground was snatched was a powerful politician. 'The governor, the senator and other government officials are all scared of the politician, they cannot do anything to stop the playground from the being taken,' Mr Mwangi said. Dozens of pupils aged from six to 13 joined in the protest, carrying placards proclaiming 'Land grabbing is terror against children', 'Kenya at 51 it's about our future', and 'Kenya: the land of the shameless grabbers'. Together with adults who were present, the boys and girls pulled open tall metal gates which had blocked access to their school playground before running into the space. Once inside they pushed down at least one other wall put up to cordon off the site. About 40 police officers in riot gear then faced off with the children before hurling tear gas canisters into their midst. Works democratically with peers: Delighted schoolchildren  run into the playground after breaking the wall illegally erected around it . Works well with friends: The youngsters, who were aged from six to 13 years old, had stormed their former playground holding placards aloft after smashing down walls and forcing open a tall metal gate with the help of adult activists . Displays good citizenship: The children had a range of placards decrying the corruption of senior politicians in Kenya's ruling coalition . Expresses ideas clearly: Boys and girls shout and wave placards after helping to smash the wall put up around their playground . Can sometimes be cheeky: Youngsters rally around a placard calling for their parents' generation to be more politically active . Doesn't listen to instructions: Children stand on the half-demolished wall with their placards as a riot policeman stands before them . Uses vivid language when writing: Schoolboys face off against a dog handler after riot police moved in to clear them away . Children screamed as police officers in riot gear and waving truncheons pushed them back, some panicking as they sought water to wash their burning eyes. Television footage showed children, some being carried away, writhing in pain, sobbing and gasping for breath because of the tear-gas. Dozens of children were caught in the choking clouds of tear gas before being forced to shelter on a pedestrian bridge over the main road to escape the noxious fumes. Police officers later brought dogs to the playground. One policeman was pictured holding a tear-gas launcher in one hand and a truncheon in the other, as blood streamed down his face after he was hit in the face with a rock. Excitement: Children rush past riot police as they seize control of the playground which had been snatched by developers . Rush: The children had returned to school for the first day back since Christmas and found their playground walled off . Future freedom fighters: With the help of activists they snatched back control of the site until police moved in with tear gas . Police spokesman Masoud Mwinyi was not available for comment. A senior police officer at the demonstration, Mwangi Kuria, told Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper that officers had been deployed to 'safeguard the property', adding that rocks had been thrown at his men. 'This is disputed land, but they should not use the children,' the policeman was quoted as saying. Two activists were detained by police, Kenyan media said. Macharia Njeru, chairman of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, said the incident would be investigated. 'Teargassing children is inexcusable,' he said. The incident has sparked outrage in Kenya and on social media where critics have been commenting on it under the hashtags 'OccupyPlayGround' and 'LangataPrimary'. Opposition leader Raila Odinga accused the police of 'brutality beyond words' and the developer of 'greed beyond description'. 'It is difficult to believe that police can actually deploy against primary school children and lob tear gas at them to defend a land grabber,' Mr Odinga said. 'This image of a nation determined to steal forcefully from its own children cannot be what we aspire to. It cannot be the legacy we want to bequeath the children.' Confident when faced with challenges: Schoolchildren face off against a riot police officer carrying a long stick . But accepts help graciously: Activist Boniface Mwangi joins the schoolchildren and the policeman is forced to retreat . And stay away! The children wave sticks at the policeman in military fatigues, as Mr Mwangi continues pointing him away from the site . Hmm, surely not called for? A police officer fires tear gas towards the crowd of children inside the playground during the protest . Fightback: Protesters take on the riot police surrounding the school as children attempt to occupy the playground . Fury: The scuffle can be seen here from another angle as adults angry at the police targeting children take on the riot officers . Comeuppance: What looks like the same police officer is seen with blood streaming down his face after he is hit with a rock . And for the cows, life goes on as normal: Cattle walk amidst teargas fired by riot police during the protest . The demonstration came as reports emerged in local media that Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko had filed a court action to try to reclaim the playground. Mr Sonko told The Star that he had instructed lawyers to seek a court order to compel the developer to return the land to the school. Opposition politician Eliud Owalo said last week that the playground had been grabbed to construct a parking lot for the politician's hotel adjacent to the school. According to the organisers of today's demonstration the playground, which had been owned by the school since 1972, was fenced off over the Christmas holidays by a 'group of professional land grabbers' linked to a senior politician. 'Langata Road Primary School playground has been grabbed by a group of known professional land grabbers acting on behalf of a very senior politician in the (ruling coalition) Jubilee government', said activists in a statement .
park. Pupils from Langata Road Primary School in developer. At least 10 children were taken to and journalists after police lobbed tear gas at them to clear the area . In such an incident tear snatched was a powerful politician. 'The moved in with tear gas . Police spokesman Masoud Road Primary School playground has been grabbed