{"id":117676,"date":"2025-07-07T07:03:54","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T07:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/07\/07\/passaris-pauses-public-order-act-amendments-as-she-bids-for-sponsors\/"},"modified":"2025-07-07T07:03:54","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T07:03:54","slug":"passaris-pauses-public-order-act-amendments-as-she-bids-for-sponsors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/passaris-pauses-public-order-act-amendments-as-she-bids-for-sponsors\/","title":{"rendered":"Passaris pauses Public Order Act amendments as she bids for sponsors"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, July 7 \u2013 Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris has paused the pre-publication process of the Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2025, to allow room for national dialogue, even as pressure mounts over its intent to limit proximity of demonstrations to key state institutions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a statement issued on Monday as protesters gears for Saba Saba Day\u2014a date commemorating Kenya\u2019s pursuit of democratic rights in the single-party era \u2014Passaris said the pause was in response to calls from the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) and other civil society groups seeking inclusive consultation on laws affecting civil liberties.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an invitation to co-create legislation that safeguards constitutional freedoms while ensuring public order,\u201d Passaris stated. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have decided to pause the pre-publication process of the Public Order (Amendment) Bill 2025 to allow for national dialogue and wide public engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proposed amendment seeks to outlaw demonstrations within a 100-meter radius of strategic government installations, including Parliament, the Judiciary, and State House, citing violence and destruction during anti-government protests.<\/p>\n

The law, under review by the National Assembly Committee on National Administration and Internal Security, has drawn support from several MPs who argue that it is necessary to shield state institutions from mob action.<\/p>\n

Passaris had defended the proposal as a necessary response to the violent turn of June 25 protests, which saw government buildings vandalized, women sexually assaulted, and at least nineteen people killed. <\/p>\n

\u201cPublic calls to invade Parliament and State House circulated online\u2026 These are not peaceful protests. Rights have been turned into ruins,\u201d she said on July 1.<\/p>\n

However, in her latest remarks, the Nairobi legislator softened her stance, calling for shared accountability and moral leadership from both state and non-state actors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thank NCCK for its bold stance in defending civil liberties, but I also challenge our religious institutions to raise the moral bar of public discourse,\u201d Passaris said. <\/p>\n

\u201cLet us teach and encourage a culture of peaceful protest, lawful engagement, and respectful disagreement\u2014values rooted in faith and democracy alike.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her decision to delay the bill comes amid growing debate in Parliament and the public domain over the balance between upholding the right to peaceful assembly and ensuring security.<\/p>\n

Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo, who chairs the committee vetting the bill, has described it as a timely safeguard against an increasingly volatile protest environment. <\/p>\n

Other MPs including Mandera East\u2019s Hussein Weytan and Homa Bay Town\u2019s Peter Kaluma have supported the proposed law, though Kaluma suggested that it should better define which issues warrant street protests versus legal petitions.<\/p>\n

Still, critics like Kisumu County MP Rosa Buyu and Nyakach MP Aduma Awour have warned against using the bill to silence dissent or limit visibility of legitimate grievances. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you say people should not come near Parliament and they come in their thousands\u2014will you shoot them all?\u201d Awour posed.<\/p>\n

Passaris, however, dismissed comparisons between her bill and the controversial Assembly and Demonstration Bill, 2024, arguing that her approach focuses on safeguarding environments around protests, rather than controlling individual behavior.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy bill is not like the Assembly and Demonstration Bill. His focused on individual conduct; mine speaks to cleaning up the environment of the demonstrations,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

As Kenya grapples with the aftermath of deadly protests and a growing generational political divide, Passaris emphasized that the way forward lies in collaboration\u2014not confrontation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we honour the spirit of Saba Saba, let us move forward not in anger, but in shared accountability; each of us doing our part to secure Kenya\u2019s promise of prosperity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additional reporting by Irene Mwangi<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, July 7 \u2013 Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris has paused the pre-publication process of the Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2025, to allow room for national dialogue, even as pressure mounts over its intent to limit proximity of demonstrations to key state institutions. In a statement issued on Monday as protesters gears for Saba […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117676\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}