NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 29 — The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) personnel will be deployed in all 47 counties to aid police in reinforcing security in the country following Tuesday’s deadly protests that left at least 23 dead.
Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said in a gazette notice Friday KDF’s main task will be to secure critical infrastructure and protect lives and property.
During Tuesdya’s demos, protestors breached Parliament which is a critical infrastructure after overwhelming security agents who were manning the facility. Nearby, the protestors set City Hall, Nairobi County headquarters, ablaze.
The events saw vandalism of businesses, theft and destruction of property in some parts of the country.
“Based on the prevailing threats to national security planned and orchestrated through various platforms in the cyber space, the deployment will cover the Forty-Seven Counties within the Republic of Kenya where critical installations and infrastructure are located in order to assist the National Police Service preserve life, preserve the internal security of the State, protect property as well as maintain law and order,” CS Duale said.
The Defense CS stated that the terms of engagement for the deployment shall be the constitutional standards enshrined in the Bill of Rights, Articles 238 (1) and (2) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, statutory requirements and principles provided at sections 3, 8 (2), 34 (1), 34 (3) and 35 of the Kenya Defence Forces Act.
CS Duale said that the deployment shall remain in force until normalcy is restored.
The move comes after the High Court declined to halt the deployment of KDF officers to assist police in quelling anti-budget protests.
Court clearance
Instead, the court mandated that the government outline the duration and scope of the military deployment within two days.
“Continuation of military assistance is necessary in view of the need to preserve order and protect military infrastructure,” Justice Lawrence Mugambi ruled on Thursday.
This decision came in response to a petition filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), which argued that the deployment should have been gazetted 24 hours after Parliament’s approval.
The judge ordered the government to urgently gazette all terms of the military’s engagement within two days, dismissing the petitioners’ argument that the Ministry of Defence had not properly invoked Article 241 of the Constitution to necessitate military intervention.
LSK President Faith Odhiambo argued that the deployment of KDF in town is unconstitutional, insisting the procedure undertaken for approval was merely cosmetic.
“What we are seeing is Parliament and the Executive treating us to a circus to cover up. We have never seen a scenario such as this since the 1982 coup,” she said.
The state, through the Office of the Attorney General, urged the court to dismiss the LSK’s pleas, pointing out that the government had followed the constitution and the petitioners had not provided evidence to support their argument.
The government deployed the military on June 25, 2024, after demonstrators stormed Parliament and set part of it on fire in protest against the Finance Bill 2024, which MPs had passed.
President’s orders
Duale gazetted the military deployment on the President’s orders, sparking anger among a section of Kenyans, LSK, civil society, and the Opposition Azimio Coalition.
The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) also voiced concerns about the deployment, warning it was akin to turning Kenya into a military state.
“The public was not fully appraised of the extent of the military intervention, hence the suspicion,” Justice Mugambi ruled, adding that he was satisfied the deployment was necessitated by the invasion of Parliament and the Supreme Court buildings, which house the Chief Justice’s office.
Justice Mugambi noted that although the constitution was not explicit on what constitutes an emergency situation, the events of June 25 presented a unique challenge.
He stated that the invasion of Parliament and the Chief Justice’s office by protesters met the definition of a “serious, unprecedented, and potentially dangerous situation requiring immediate action.”
Source: capitalfm
