Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen is on the spot over the use of terrorism charges against protesters.
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV, Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo pushed back on Murkomen's remarks, saying the determination of who qualifies as a terrorist lies with the courts, not government officials.
Murkomen, on July 23, accused the LSK of siding with “terrorists” by challenging the strict terrorism charges and bail conditions for protesters arrested during recent demonstrations.
“I reiterate, as a member of the Law Society of Kenya, I totally disagree with those who want to make it look cheap when we say that people burning police stations, supermarkets, county vehicles, houses, and stealing guns should be treated as criminals. These are clearly acts of terror,” he said.
Murkomen accused LSK of taking part in a growing trend of legal professionals prioritising the rights of suspects over the security of citizens.
Odhiambo defended that LSK was simply defending constitutional rights.
“It is not Murkomen to determine whether someone is a terrorist or not. It is the law and the Judiciary to determine and make that verdict if those people were actually terrorists, if they meet that threshold," said the lawyers’ body boss.
“Article 50 provides that you are innocent until proven guilty and Article 49 provides that you have a right to legal counsel. At no particular point does the LSK agree to statements made by the CS in his capacity,” she said.
Odhiambo cautioned leaders against using labels to criminalise dissent, stating that such tactics have been used against legitimate movements.
“We have seen leaders who are now sitting in Oval Offices being referred to as treasonists, terrorists, as murderous, among the heinous crimes in the country, merely because they had a dissenting voice. Because you call someone a thief does not make them a thief," she noted.
The LSK president emphasised that the rule of law must always be applied equally, acknowledging that violence and chaos marred parts of the protest..
“We recognise the anarchy that occurred. What LSK is saying is: adopt the same standard. Under Kenyan law, we are equal,” she stated.
"We see police walking hand in hand with goons—and the question is: how many police officers have been arrested?"