By Tajeu Shadrack Nkapapa
The government has given the green light for the Kenya Defence Forces to be stationed in all 47 counties in order to bolster security in the wake of the protests against the Finance Bill 2024.
Cabinet Secretary for Defence Hon. Aden Duale, in a gazette notice dated June 28, 2024, announced that the military will be dispatched to various parts of the country to assist the National Police Service in safeguarding important government facilities as mandated by the law.
The gazette notice cited the Constitution of Kenya and the Court ruling which allowed the deployment of Kenya Defence Forces till calm is restored.
“Pursuant to Article 241 (3) (b) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 read with sections 31 (1) (a), 31 (1) (c), 33 (1), 34 (1) and 34 (2) 35 the Kenya Defence Forces Act, the KDF deployed on the 25th June 2024 in support of the National Police Service in response to the security emergency caused by violent protests in various parts of the Republic of Kenya resulting in destruction and breach of critical infrastructure,” states the gazette notice.
Further to the orders of the Court in High Court Constitutional and Human Rights Petition Number 307 of 2024, it is notified for the general information of the public that;
“Based on the prevailing threats to national security planned and orchestrated through various platforms in the cyber space, the deployment will cover the Forty-Seven Counties within the Republic of Kenya where critical installations and infrastructure are located in order to assist the National Police Service preserve life, preserve the internal security of the state, protect prosperity as well as maintain law and order,” CS Duale said in the gazette notice.
“The terms of engagement for the deployment shall be the constitutional standards enshrined in the Bill of Rights, Articles 238 (1) and (2) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, statutory requirements and principles provided at sections 3, 8 (2), 34 (1), 34 (3) and 35 of the Kenya Defence Forces Act,” he added.
According to the CS for Defence the deployment shall continue until normalcy is restored.