As the youths plan to take to the streets tomorrow to express displeasure with the Finance Bill, a group of professionals in Narok have told the government not to intimidate the protesters.
Maasai Professionals chairman Dr Ita ole Kiok, said the police officers should provide security during the demonstrations instead of attacking the young people.
Speaking to the Star on the phone, Dr Ole Kiok said that the freedom of expression and demonstration is enshrined in Articles 33 and 37 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 which guarantees the right to peacefully and unarmed protest.
“We don't like incidents like the ones witnessed last week where the police officers used intimidations and force to try and gag the protesters who are pursuing their rights by pushing the legislators to reject the Finance Bill in Parliament,” Dr Ole Kiok said.
He added that the police officers should ensure that tomorrow's demonstrations have sufficient security and they should be vigilant.
"By law, the police are supposed to remain independent and neutral when it comes to citizen’s expressions and demonstrations. They should only intercede when the protesters violate the law,” he said.
“Content neutrality is the principle that the government should neither favour nor disfavour particular viewpoints when regulating speech or expressions in demonstrations. In this framework of protests, the government should not suppress demonstrations based on the content of their speeches."
He also challenged the demonstrators to ensure that they are peaceful and maintain law and order throughout the exercise.
“The demonstrators should ensure that they apply mechanisms in which few criminals’ elements are eliminated because the agenda of the day is to ensure that the government listens to their side of the story,” he said.
While rejecting the Finance Bill, the professional said that these rights are crucial for a functioning democracy by allowing citizens to express grievances, advocate for change, and hold the government accountable.
“These protests against taxation are legitimate concerns for any citizen in a democratic society, given that taxation directly affects their earnings, expenditures, and savings,” Dr Kiok said.
He defended the move taken by the youths to demonstrate saying that the government should accept the fact that there are part of the people championing their liberation.
Dr Kiok highlighted the land issues in the Bill alleging that if passed unchecked, it will allow the government to decide the owner of a given parcel of land, once a certain time elapsed.
