Former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga criticized Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki and Attorney General Justin Muturi on Friday, July 7, for police brutality against protesters during the Azimio coalition’s Saba Saba demonstrations.
Mutunga stated in Nairobi that the duo should be the ones advising and guiding Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome and his troops on how to deal with protestors due to their extensive legal experience.
He claimed that the two had become so engrossed in their political careers that they had forgotten their primary responsibility of providing sound legal advice to the government and diligently serving Kenyans.
According to the retired Chief Justice, the government’s decision to arbitrarily arrest protestors was unnecessary because they had not broken the law.
“They’ve become politicians and have forgotten about the rule of law.” Those are the people, in my opinion, who should be telling the IG what the Constitution says. The government will look very good if the police protect demonstrators.
“The police ought to protect the protestors and not arrest them. We have a police force that is not decolonized. The IG should be told about Articles 37 and 238 of the 2010 Constitution of Kenya,” he stated.
Article 37 touches on the right to assembly, demonstration, picketing, and petition while 238 touches on principles of national security including how the police should handle Kenyans in such scenarios.
