Protesters had joined demonstrations in Nairobi and other parts of Kenya on Monday in response to a call by veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga for a day of action against the government of President William Ruto.
"We are suffering and tired of this Ruto regime. We've had enough," said one protester, who asked not to be identified, as tear gas swirled around her.
The discontented include some of those who voted for Ruto and feel he has not delivered on pledges to help the country's forgotten "hustlers," or working-class Kenyans.
Police fired tear gas and water cannon against demonstrators, some of whom were hurling rocks and burning tires.
The inspector general of police, Japhet Koome, said in a statement that 213 people were arrested in Nairobi and 24 officers injured.
At least four members of parliament were arrested during protests in Nairobi, including the minority leaders of the National Assembly and Senate, Odinga's spokesman, Dennis Onyango, said.
In the province of Nyanza, an opposition stronghold in western Kenya, there were 25 arrests while seven officers were hurt, an official said.
Authorities also prevented Odinga's convoy from driving towards the president's State House residence to deliver a petition.
It was the worst violence since Ruto took office six months ago after narrowly beating Odinga in an election his defeated rival claims was "stolen."
Police had also announced on Monday that a university student was killed in the western town of Maseno after officers fired live bullets during "skirmishes" with protesters who were "pelting stones."
This report was sourced from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.