Police must not violate citizens' rights during Azimio protests

Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga exits the JKIA after arrival from his UAE trip. [Silas Otieno, Standard] As the country gears up for renewed Azimio protests, the spotlight turns on the Kenya Kwanza regime once again. The second phase of demos is a continuation of the push to have the William Ruto-led regime address the high cost of living through restoration of the subsidy programmes on unga, fuel, electricity and school fees; opening last year's presidential election servers for audit; protection of the letter and spirit of fidelity to multi-party democracy and adherence to the principle of inclusivity in the appointment of civil servants. The Constitution provides in Article 37 that every person has the right, peaceably and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket, and to present petitions to public authorities. The same Constitution demands of the police to provide security during the demos. But the security forces have instead opted to blatantly violate Article 37, resorting to use of excessive force on the protesters. So far, more than nine people have been killed and at least 20 others have been maimed and injured. Apart from violating Article 37, police action is equally in violation of Article 26 on the Right to Life as detailed in Chapter Four on Bill of Rights, which states: "Every person has a right to life; and that a person shall not be deprived of life intentionally, except to the extent authorised by the Constitution or other written law." And in violation of the same Article 26, the police made an attempt on the life of Azimio leader Raila Odinga during the March 30 demonstrations in Pipeline, Embakasi South Constituency, Nairobi, when a contingent targeted his vehicle, firing approximately 10 rounds of live ammunition. The attack is a clear sign that there is a plot to target the Azimio leader in the wake of confusion created by teargassing of his convoy whose aim is to silence him by the gun instead of responding to the key issues that characterise the ongoing protests. But the question to those behind the plot is, have they really considered the consequences of terminating the life of Raila, probably the most prominent political figure in Kenya, through the barrel of the gun? Influential British author, Eric Ambler, once said: "The important thing to know about an assassination or an attempted assassination is not who fired the shot, but who paid for the bullet." Who therefore wants Raila dead? And as this author says, the important thing know here is who is it behind the heinous scheme? As Azimio, in the interest of the people and country, we were magnanimous enough to halt the protests to give the bipartisan talks a chance to have the contentious issues we have raised addressed by the regime through dialogue. But midstream, we have realised our opponents are showing a total lack of commitment to the talks, hence the decision to go back to the people and picket; which we will do even in the course of the negotiations, if at all they are to resume. This regime must realise the Constitution demands of it to be accountable to the people - to whom all sovereign power belong as stipulated in Chapter One. Kenya, like many other African countries, is still struggling to deepen and institutionalise democracy and deal effectively with government impunity, particularly associated with the abuse of executive power and the violation of human rights. The people of Kenya donated their sovereign power to State organs and institutions such as Parliament, the Executive, the Judiciary, and county governments and assemblies, among others; expecting in exchange - proper governance as the Constitution demands. In so doing, the people expect state organs, state officers, public officers among others, to be bound by the national values and principles of governance whenever they make or implement public policy decisions. Hence those to whom the people donated their sovereign power must exercise it in a responsible manner that considers the well-being of the people through the rule of law, equity and justice. This informs Azimio's decision to formally petition the Hague-based International Criminal Court in the Netherlands to investigate the killings and maiming of supporters whose details have been forwarded to the Office of the Prosecutor. -Mr Ong'wen is the Executive Director of the Orange Democratic Movement

Police must not violate citizens' rights during Azimio protests

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