KHRC castigates Kahariri, Haji for lecturing Kenyans over ‘Ruto must go’ chants
The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has castigated Chief of Defence Forces Charles Kahariri and National Intelligence Service Director General Noordin Haji over their recent warning remarks to Kenyans regarding the “Ruto Must Go” chants.
In a statement posted via its media channels on Friday, March 28, 2025, KHRC stated that the CDF’s sentiments were an outright assault on the constitutional rights of Kenyans as residents of the sovereign powers vested in leaders.
“The warning by Chief of Defence Forces Charles Kahariri and National Intelligence Service Director General Noordin Haji against the ‘Ruto Must Go’ slogan is an outright assault on Kenyans’ constitutional rights. No authority—military, intelligence, or executive—can override the sovereignty of the people. Article 1 of the constitution states all sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya, a statement from the rights body read.
KHRC rebuked the two entities for overstepping their mandates and failing in the very principle they accused Kenyans of.
In its statement, the rights group referenced KDF’s blatant violation of the law by agreeing to be deployed against Kenyans during the Gen Z protests.
The body also cited NIS for the series of enforced disappearances that rocked the nation in the recent past.
KHRC maintained that Kahariri and Haji were out of order to indulge in such threats.
“Given this, neither Kahariri nor Haji has the moral authority to lecture Kenyans about upholding the constitution—they have trampled upon it. The people’s right to express discontent, assemble peacefully, and demand accountability is protected by the Constitution. Kenyans will not bow to unconstitutional decrees. The people and the constitution are supreme—not the government, not the military, and certainly not the intelligence service or any other arm of government,” KHRC noted.
CDF’s remarks
Speaking at the National Intelligence and Research University in Nairobi during a public lecture by National Intelligence Service (NIS) boss Noordin Haji on Thursday, March 27, 2025, Kahariri emphasized that Kenyans must prioritize love for their country to avoid chaos.
He stressed that exercising rights should remain within constitutional bounds to prevent the country from falling apart, adding that any calls for change, such as the ‘Must Go‘ slogan, must be pursued constitutionally to avoid anarchy.
“Unless we love our country first, we will soon have no country, and if there is no spare, we can not have anarchy in the country. So, as people exercise their rights, they should be within limits, within bounds, such that we can not allow them to exercise their rights to the extent of tearing apart the country,” Kahariri said.
“The military: we are apolitical; we do not support any political side. We defend the constitution and the government of the day, duly elected by the people, so when people decide that they are tired of this government and you choose it yourself, and then you say, ‘Must go, must go‘, that ‘Must go‘ must be done according to the constitution.
