AG, Defence Council defend military deployment during 2024 Gen Z protests
National
By
Kamau Muthoni
| Jun 18, 2026
KDF soldier keeps vigil in Nairobi CBD during Gen Z protests. [File, Standard]
The Attorney General and the Defence Council have clashed with the Law Society of Kenya over the deployment of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) to contain the youth-led 2024 protests.
The AG, in reply to the LSK’s case before High Court Judge Patricia Nyaundi, argued that there is no requirement by the Inspector General of Police to declare an overrun before the military personnel are deployed.
While defending the gazette notice published by then Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, the AG argued that the purpose of having KDF in the streets was to deter crime.
The AG also argued the issue of a state of emergency can be litigated only before the Supreme Court, not the High Court.
The Defence Council blamed the protests against Finance Bill 2024 on social media misinformation.
Major Mohammed Mwinyi, in his response before the court, argued that Article 241 (3) (B) and Section 31 of the Kenya Defence Forces Act allows the military to assist the police in emergencies and instances of public disorder.
He claimed the military had been previously deployed in such situations.
Mwinyi claimed misinformation caused the youth to go to the streets with the intention of overturning the government.
“The effects of such as action transcended mere disruption; it constituted the brazen attempt to subvert the will of the people and usurp the power legitimately bestowed upon the government through a democratic election,” he said.
He claimed that the threat to occupy State House on June 27,2024 was out of swept-up emotional fervour, fuelled by a distorted online narrative.
In the case, the LSK sued Duale and Chief of Defence Forces Charles Kahariri. The lawyers lobby accused Duale of unilaterally calling the military personnel from the barracks without following the law. The Charles Kanjama-led society asserted that none of the protestors were armed.
It argued that there was nothing in the protests that would have been deemed as an emergency.
LSK lawyer Chrysostom Akhaabi argued that there is nowhere in the law that says the military can support the police in responding to an emergency.
He claimed that Duale’s actions were fanciful or made up in order to execute a purpose that does not exist in the Kenyan law or the Constitution.
Akhaabi also argued that the CS had no powers to declare a state of emergency. He stated that only the President could do so.
He said there was no justifiable reason to deploy KDF to support the police.
The lawyer said Duale’s actions amounted to unleashing and setting up armed and trained disciplined forces officers against civilians carrying placards and water bottles.