By Antynet Ford
Operation Linda Jamii lobby group has filed a petition in court to have police facilitate protesters in their expected peaceful procession to the State House, Nairobi and all State Lodges.
Court documents seen by Corporate Watch show that the petitioner notified the Inspector General of Police listed as the second respondent of the expected nationwide march which will see protesters present their petitions to the said premises.
The lobby group stated that the processions would be made up of their members and Kenyans of good-will as they head to deliver the petitions to the house on the hill in Nairobi, and state lodges in Mombasa, Kisumu, Sagana, Nyeri, Eldoret, Nakuru, Kakamega and Kitale.
They asserted that considering the prevailing patterns of law enforcement being deployed against peaceful demonstrators, the police Inspector General ought to guarantee that officers exercise constraint during the nationwide protest.
“In all these protests, despite the fact that Kenyans have consistently communicated their intention to, peaceably and unarmed, express their disaffection with the regime on the streets, they have been met with untold violence, intimidation, torture, detention without trial, murder and enforced disappearances at the hands of the State.” The document reads in part.
Further, Linda Jamii faulted the Kenya Kwanza regime for deploying officers to intimidate Kenyans, breaching the provisions of the 2010 Constitution.
“The nation is quickly degenerating into a police state. Voices of dissent are being criminalized on a mass scale, due process is being denied those deemed to be against the regime, the horror of enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings is back in full force.” They told the court.
“The preamble to the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, recognises the aspirations of all Kenyans for a government based on the essential values of human rights, equality, freedom, democracy, social justice and the rule of law.” They added.
A procession towards State House was initially organized on June 27 during the peak of the nationwide demonstrations, and heavily armed officers were strategically positioned near the premises, prohibiting anyone from even approaching the entrances.
Military security personnel were also stationed close to State House to block off all access roads.
The initial Schedule of the Protected Areas Act acknowledges State House and State Lodge as protected zones, and any individuals discovered within the premises without authorization “shall be deemed to have committed an offense and may be subject to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or a fine not exceeding five thousand shillings, or both imprisonment and fine.”
