Nassir’s urge to police
Protest and police brutality
The ongoing anti-government peaceful protest is in its third week with protesters calling for the government to address economic constraints.
However, the police have been accused of interfering in the peaceful protest and inflicting injuries to the protestors.
Chief Justice Martha Koome on, July 1, 2024, condemned the recent spate of abduction cases and the excessive use of force by police officers while dealing with protesters.
While quoting Article 37 of the Constitution, CJ Koome insisted that she did not envision that anyone would lose their life while exercising this right. She added that life remains sacrosanct as protected under Article 26 of the Constitution.
“When the Constitution provided for the right to peaceably and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket, and to present petitions to public authorities in Article 37, it did not envision that anyone would lose their life while exercising this right. Life remains sacrosanct as protected under Article 26 of the Constitution, and law enforcement should exercise proportionate force in balancing the protection of law and order with the rights of protesters,” CJ Koome said.
“We should not witness cases of excessive use of force that threaten the lives of peaceful and unarmed protesters. I, therefore, condemn the excessive use of force on protestors that we have witnessed and urge that the perpetrators be disciplined, charged and prosecuted following the law. The State’s responsibility is to protect life, not take it away.”
