NAIROBI, Kenya July 10 \u2013 The Judiciary has clarified that the Wednesday High Court ruling does not ban police from barricading roads but it does demand that they inform the public first.<\/p>\n
This comes after public confusion and backlash, including strong remarks from President William Ruto, who criticized the court\u2019s decision as unfair and restrictive.<\/p>\n
At the center of the matter is a petition filed by the Katiba Institute, challenging police roadblocks and barricades in Nairobi during protests. <\/p>\n
The Institute argued that blocking roads without warning violates Kenyans\u2019 constitutional rights to freedom of movement and peaceful assembly.<\/p>\n
In its ruling delivered on Wednesday, the High Court issued temporary orders requiring the Inspector General of Police and his officers to stop sealing off roads leading into the Nairobi CBD without issuing prior public notices or advisories.<\/p>\n
However, Judiciary Spokesperson Paul Ndemo clarified on Thursday that the court did not ban police barricades altogether. <\/p>\n
Instead, it stressed the need for transparency and public notice especially during emergencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe temporary orders do not prohibit police from barricading roads,\u201d said Ndemo. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey only require the Inspector General and officers to inform the public in good time before blocking access to the CBD or any public roads.\u201d<\/p>\n
The clarification follows claims some repeated in the media that the court had tied the hands of the police during protests.<\/p>\n
The court issued the orders after the State Law Office, which was served with the petition, failed to respond or appear in court. <\/p>\n
The orders will remain in place until the petition is fully heard and determined.<\/p>\n
In his response, President Ruto dismissed the ruling as unrealistic, saying police need tools like roadblocks and tear gas to protect lives and property during protests.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can anyone say that police shouldn\u2019t block roads or use tear gas?\u201d the President asked. \u201cThese are tools used to protect ordinary Kenyans when things get chaotic.\u201d<\/p>\n
But legal experts and human rights groups argue the ruling simply reaffirms the Constitution, which guarantees peaceful protest and movement.<\/p>\n
The Katiba Institute, in its case, cited previous court rulings affirming that the police cannot block protests or roads without following due process. <\/p>\n
They argued that recent roadblocks were unlawful, excessive, and disruptive to everyday life.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAIROBI, Kenya July 10 \u2013 The Judiciary has clarified that the Wednesday High Court ruling does not ban police from barricading roads but it does demand that they inform the public first. This comes after public confusion and backlash, including strong remarks from President William Ruto, who criticized the court\u2019s decision as unfair and restrictive. […]<\/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-117865","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\/117865","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=117865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117865\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}