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Reject draconian Bill threatening freedoms

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By  Editorial

It is quite understandable that the government would wish to clamp down on the protests that have recently shaken it. Lives have been lost and property destroyed. The death toll in the latest, the June 25, demonstrations has risen to nearly 20. A police station and other government properties, including police stations, were gutted.

The Constitution guarantees the right of the people to hold peaceful protests. But these are often infiltrated by goons, who loot and damage property. The government and the protesters have been trading accusations on who is to blame for the lawlessness.

A genuine effort to ensure that the protests are peaceful would make sense. What does not is an attempt to block Kenyans from exercising their freedoms of expression and association. That would be a violation of Article 37 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, which states that “every citizen has the right, peaceably and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket, and to present petitions to public authorities”.

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A Bill sponsored by Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris that seeks to shield State House, police stations, and other protected areas from goons may be well-intended, but it could violate key freedoms. As another MP has pointed out, there is already a law to take care of looters, robbers, and other lawbreakers.

If the Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2025 is passed, Kenyans will not be allowed to picket within 100 metres of Parliament, other protected areas, and courts. One could be fined Sh100,000 or jailed for three months if found guilty of participating in a demonstration in a non-designated area.

The Bill before the Committee on National Security and Administration seeks to amend the Public Order Act by empowering the Interior Cabinet Secretary, in consultation with county governments, to designate demonstration zones.

Law and order must be maintained, but not by eroding the freedoms Kenyans have fought over the years to entrench. The MPs should tread with utmost care on this one.