High Court suspends deployment of KDF after LSK petition
High Court suspends deployment of KDF to quell protests in various parts of the country
High Court suspends deployment of KDF to quell protests in various parts of the country following a petition by LSK.
This comes after the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) filed a petition in court seeking to block the deployment of the Kenya Defence Force (KDF) to manage protests.
In a statement on Wednesday, June 26, LSK accused Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetangula of contravening the law.
In its petition, LSK described the government’s action as unconstitutional and therefore illegal.
Led by President Faith Odhiambo, LSK urged the court to suspend the decision to deploy the military pending a hearing and determination of the case.
The move comes hours after CS Duale announced the deployment of military personnel to help police combat violent protestors.
In a gazette notice dated June 25, the CS stated that the move was reached after a section of demonstrators resorted to interfering with critical infrastructure.
“Under Article 241 (3) (b) of the Constitution of Kenya as read with sections 31 (1) (a), 31 (1) (c), 33 (1), 34 (1) and 34 (2) of the Kenya Defence Forces Act, (Cap. 199), the Kenya Defence Forces is deployed on the 25th June, 2024 in support of the National Police Service,” read part of the gazette notice.
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“This is in response to the security emergency caused by the ongoing violent protests in various parts of the republic of Kenya resulting in destruction and breaching of critical infrastructure.”
The announcement was followed by a special meeting by the National Assembly to ratify the deployment of the officers to different parts of the country.
KDF’s deployment was approved after Speaker Moses Wetangula convened an urgent meeting where National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah fronted the motion.
On Tuesday Kenyans across the country took to the streets to demonstrate after Members of Parliament passed the contentious Finance Bill 2024.
In Nairobi, the mostly peaceful protests quickly culminated into a violent one after protestors attempted to gain entry into the parliament buildings, forcing the police to intervene.
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