Police officers above the rank of inspector will be granted the power to call off protests if they deem that the picketing poses a potential danger to lives or property should a new bill be passed into law.
The bill, proposed by Mbeere North Member of Parliament Geoffrey Ruku, seeks to regulate the conditions under which mass demonstrations across the country can be held.
According to Ruku, the bill will also determine the extent of a police officer's mandate in a bid to ensure peaceful demonstrations.
This involves ensuring there is no interference with the movement of vehicles or pedestrians and a proper distance between rival groups when conducting a meeting or demos.
“The Bill recognises the right to picket but in a democratic society, we must be disciplined. We must run a nation that is disciplined. We must put measures including what extent police go and the obligations of the organisers of the demos. You can’t destroy property and we can’t have a loss of life in the course of demos. Let us have peaceful demos and for this to be achieved, we must have regulations," he stated.
While listing the obligations of organisers of the protests, the bill proposes those involved be held liable for loss of lives and subsequently pay for damage to property incurred during the demos.
Further, those who engage in illegal protests will be imprisoned for one year in a bid to regulate how demos are conducted in the country.
The bill also seeks to outlaw the carrying of banners, placards, weapons and utterances that have the potential to escalate into hate speech. In addition, the legislation proposes that protestors be prohibited from adorning clothing that resembles police officers' attire.
Rank
It is instructive to note that inspector is the fourth-lowest rank available in the National Police Service (NPS).
Should the bill be passed, the powers to cancel the protests will be granted to the inspector, chief inspector, assistant superintendent, superintendent of police, senior superintendent, commissioner, and assistant inspector general alongside other officials in the NPS food chain.
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