Makali Mulu: Passaris’s bill goes against the Constitution
Kitui Central Member of Parliament (MP) Makali Mulu has criticised Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris’s Public Order (Amendment) Bill, stating that it infringes on the constitutional right to protest.
Speaking on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, Mulu said the bill, which seeks to prohibit public gatherings and protests near Parliament and other constitutionally protected sites, was introduced at the wrong time, noting it comes on the heels of recent youth-led demonstrations.
“This Public Order Bill, which the mover is Esther Passaris, goes against Article 35 of our Constitution, which guarantees Kenyans the freedom to demonstrate, and she is also proposing that people should be a hundred metres away from Parliament, the State House and the Judiciary,” Muli said.
“The timing of the bill is wrong too; it is unstrategic in terms of timing because we have just come from demonstrations, and you bring a bill which seemingly tells Kenyans you should not go and demonstrate.”
The vocal legislator added that such bills should come from the government and not a parliamentarian from the minority side.
“In any case, I thought such a bill should come from the government, saying that as a government we need to protect ourselves and protect the state house, the judiciary and parliament, not an MP from the minority side,” he said.
Passaris’s Bill
Mulu’s remarks come after Passiris presented the Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2025, to the National Assembly Security Committee on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, which aims to amend the Public Order Act (Cap. 56) to introduce new rules governing where Kenyans can hold demonstrations and public processions.
“A person shall not hold a public meeting or public procession within a radius of one hundred metres from the precincts of Parliament, protected areas under the Protected Areas Act, and courtrooms,” the proposal read in parts.
Anyone found breaking this law would be guilty of an offence and “shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both.”
“We need to start with the protection of areas that safeguard our Constitution and areas that protect our most vulnerable citizens. And also the penalty of rape during demonstration; we have to review that law, because it has become rampant,” Passaris said, explaining her reasoning during the National Assembly Security Committee on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
If passed, the law could significantly alter how protests are managed in Nairobi and across Kenya.
