A lobby has called on the government to recall the deployment of Kenya Defence Forces across the country tasked with quelling unrest resulting from anti-Finance Bill protests.
In a statement on Wednesday, Kituo Cha Sheria chairperson Justus Munyithya said the government has a constitutional mandate to provide security during peaceful protests as opposed to responding violently to innocent, hungry and dejected citizens’ rights of assembly and protest.
“We condemn with the strongest terms possible the use of police brutality witnessed against peaceful protestors and the arbitrary arrests and intimidation of various journalists, lawyers, civilians and CSO representatives,” Munyithya said.
“The State should degazette the deployment of the Kenya Defence Forces in the ongoing protests,” he added.
MPs on Wednesday approved the deployment of the KDF within the country to restore order after deadly protests.
The move followed the gazettement of the deployment late Tuesday by Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale.
He said the soldiers will support the National Police Service in responding to the security emergency caused by the ongoing violent protests in various parts of the country.
Rejection of the Finance Bill ignited countrywide civil protests by mainly young people who called on MPs not to approve the proposed new tax measures in the Bill.
The mass protests, which started on June 18, hit a crescendo on Tuesday, June 25 after MPs defied public outcry and voted 195 to 106 to endorse the passage of the Bill.
Twelve people have since been confirmed to have died in Nairobi following violent clashes between protesters and anti-riot police officers.
Property of unknown value was also destroyed in the city and various other major towns including Eldoret, Embu, Nyeri and Molo.
Some of the properties are linked to members of Parliament known to have voted for the passage of the Bill.
On Wednesday, a source at State House said President William Ruto had referred the Bill back to Parliament for further amendments.
In his statement released moments before Ruto’s decision, Munyithya had urged the President to refer the Bill back to MPs for withdrawal.
“The President should not assent to the Finance Bill as approved by Parliament and should refer it back to Parliament for withdrawal and thereby re-tabling for debate incorporating the issues raised by the members of the public,” he said.
He pointed out that more than 83 per cent of Kenyans are opposed to the Finance Bill as indicated by a recent Infotrak opinion poll.
Further, Kituo Cha Sheria has called for the compensation of families who lost their loved ones as police responded to the protests.
“The President of the Republic of Kenya should issue an apology to the people of Kenya in whom sovereign power lies over the violent response by the State to peaceful protestors that have a right to peacefully assemble and picket,” the Legal Advice Centre said.
Munyithya said police officers found to have used indiscriminate force, including unlawful killings of protesters, should be investigated by the Independent Police Oversight Authority and made to face legal consequences.
“All illegally detained persons following the protests be released unconditionally,” he added.
