Karua fires salvo at police as Azimio vows to storm Nairobi CBD on Tuesday
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Karua fires salvo at police for banning Azimio demonstrations even as the coalition vows to storm Nairobi CBD on Tuesday
Karua fires salvo at police for banning Azimio demonstrations even as the coalition vows to storm Nairobi CBD on Tuesday.
Azimio Coalition has dismissed a public order decree forbidding protests in the capital vowing to proceed with its planned demonstration in Nairobi’s Central Business District on Tuesday.
Narc Kenya Party Leader Martha Karua fired the first salvo against police authorities on Sunday saying the opposition does not need permission from the police in order to hold demonstrations.
‘’Media has a responsibility to inform correctly, we do not require permission from the police or anybody else to hold demonstrations. That’s the law,’’ Karua said lashing out at the press for reporting a pronouncement on the matter by Nairobi Police Chief Adamson Bungei.
‘’Bungei and the Kenya Police Service and Inspector General of Police ought to know this, Kenya is a constitutional democracy and not a dictatorship,’’ she added.
House Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi voiced similar sentiments saying the demonstration will continue as scheduled unless disrupted by the police.
Speaking on Sunday during a church service in Imara Daima, Wandayi said Azimio will never ask for permission from the police to hold protests citing guarantees under Article 37 of the Constitution (2010).
The constitutional provision protects the right to carry out peaceful protests.
‘’No one will ever ask for permission from the police to hold demonstrations, under the new Constitution. We do not need permission from anyone,’’ he said.
Wandayi further said that it is the responsibility of the police to provide security and protect property.
‘’It is the duty of the police to offer security to those who will be demonstrating, use the instruments properly to protect citizens,’’ he stated.
Wandayi said Azimio would only stop the demonstrations if their demands are addressed by the government.
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‘’If you want us to stop the demonstrations, do what we asked, it is important as Kenyans to realize that what we are currently doing is for the benefit of the people,’’ Wandayi said.
While announcing the decision to reject Azimio’s notification for a demonstration, Bungei cited previous violence, deaths, and destruction of property during protests by the Raila Odinga-led coalition.
Bungei confirmed that he received a notification of Azimio’s intention to conduct public demonstrations within Nairobi County, but said that whereas Article 37 of Kenya’s Constitution (2010) allows every citizen the right to peacefully assemble, demonstrate, and picket, “the right to assemble is not absolute under the Constitution.”
“The Azimio demonstrations were nothing but peaceful as such by this letter we are declining to allow the Azimio team the go-ahead to proceed with the demonstrations and any such demonstration will be dispensed by law enforcement officers,” he said in a letter read out to the press on Sunday.
He asserted that Section 5 of the Public Order Act seeks to regulate public meetings and processions by providing for the need to notify the Police Service and also the power of the Police Service to stop or prevent a public meeting where appropriate and where it is obvious it will not meet the constitutional objectives.
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