The High Court of Kenya has issued an order prohibiting police from using water cannons against protesters.
Justice Mugure Thande issued the conservatory orders after a petition filed by lawyer Saitabao Ole Kanchory on behalf of the young people of Kenya, popularly known as GenZ, and in the public interest.
“The 1st and 2nd Respondents be and are hereby prohibited from using water cannons, tear gas, live ammunition, rubber bullets or other crude weapons or draconian measures and from deploying brute force or any form of violence against persons protesting against the Finance Bill, 2024,” court papers read.
The petition addressed multiple alleged violations of the Constitution of Kenya, with focus being on police brutalities, illegal arrests, abductions, intimidation, and other forms of violence against peaceful protesters.
Court on Treatment of Protesters
In his petition, Saitabao had asked the court to stop law enforcers from committing extrajudicial killings, arrests, abductions, detentions, harassment, intimidation, torture, and inhuman or degrading treatment of the protesters.
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The Inspector General of the National Police Service and the Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Interior and National Administration have been named as respondents in the case. As per the court papers seen by The Kenya Times, the case will come up for mentioning on July 17.
KDF Deployment Ruling
This comes a day after Milimani High Court Magistrate Justice Lawrence Mugambi in a ruling on Thursday, June 27, 2024 upheld the deployment of KDF to assist police in managing anti-finance bill protesters across the country.
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Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi court, however, directed the state to issue the scope, duration and areas of military intervention within two days.
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) had filed a petition aimed at seeking to stop the state from deploying military officers to the streets.
Led by President Faith Odhiambo, LSK argued that no emergency, unrest or instability has been officially declared to exist in Kenya to warrant the deployment of the KDF to provide support to the police.
The deployment of Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) troops is as a reinforcement for National Police Service Officers (NPS) officers in managing youth-led protests in various parts of the country.
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