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NASA anti-IEBC demos banned in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu

BY Juma · October 12, 2017 09:10 am

The Interior Ministry has banned all demonstrations in the central business districts of Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa.

Interior Acting CS Fred Matiangi announced the ban after meeting the leadership of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and discussed their security concerns ahead of the 26th of Oct 2017 elections.

Citing the Public Order Act cap 56 specifically  section 5 which, “Due to the clear, present and imminent danger of breach of peace, the government notifies the public that, for the time being, we will not allow demonstrations within the central business districts of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu,” said Dr Matiang’i.

The CS said he will gazette new regulations as stipulated under Section 22(1) of the order which stipulates that, ‘ The Minister may make regulations prescribing anything which may be prescribed under this Act, and generally to give effect to the provisions of this Act’.

That directive is unlawful

Consequently, Senior Counsel Otiende Amolo who is also the NASA lawyer said they do not agree with the Interior CS statement to ban their protests which are protected by the constitution.

“We do not agree with him. Our position is that Article 37 of the Constitution is very clear. All that is required by section 5 of the Public Order Act is to inform the law enforcers of the intention to protest.”

“The responsibility to ensure you are protected and property are not destroyed lies with the police,” he said.

He also reiterated that “Article 37 cannot be constrained. Dr Matiang’i is not the law. He is not empowered to do such thing,” said Otiende.

Ms, Esther Passaris, the Nairobi County Woman Representative said they will file a complaint against the police to the IPOA for police brutality. “There is no point to having laws and institutions which do not execute their mandate as the law,” she said.

The National Super Alliance will from next week Monday hold daily protests against the electoral commission.

According to KEPSA, the prolonged uncertainty and frequent disruptions arising from this election period are undermining Kenya’s competitiveness in an increasingly competitive global economy.

“Several businesses have been forced to employ a wait-and-see attitude on key investment and spending decisions, as they await the end of the Presidential election process. The linkages that tie businesses within a complex, integrated modern economy mean that the ripple effects of such decisions have spread to all businesses, and especially, much to our mounting alarm, to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which account for a large proportion of Kenya’s businesses, and on which much of our economic growth is premised.”

Juma is an enthusiastic journalist who believes that journalism has power to change the world either negatively or positively depending on how one uses it. (020) 528 0222 or Email: info@sokodirectory.com

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