- In a statement, the Defenders Coalition, a human rights organisation said they have deployed teams to monitor the exercise.
- Amnesty International Kenya also said they will deploy protest observers at the occupancy of the parliament demonstration.
Image: ENOS TECHE
Human Rights groups have called on police to exercise restraint amid the ongoing protests in Nairobi that have seen several people arrested.
Kenyans took to the streets to protest over the Finance Bill set to be tabled in Parliament.
Carrying placards and chanting songs, Kenyans protested under the hashtag #OccupyParliament.
In a statement, the Defenders Coalition, a human rights organisation said they have deployed teams to monitor the exercise.
They further asked the protesters to maintain peaceful demonstrations in the Nairobi CBD.
"We call on the authorities to uphold the Constitution of Kenya and to refrain from any form of lawlessness, impunity, and violence against peaceful protesters," the statement read.
"We also urge citizens participating in the #OccupyParliament and #RejectFinanceBill2024 protests to be peaceful and to document any form of human rights violations that they might encounter."
They maintained that Kenyans notified relevant authorities regarding their plans to peacefully exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights to assemble, picket and present petitions to public authorities (Art 37).
Several Kenyans have been arrested for participating in the #OccupyParliament protests.
Police in plain clothes arrested protesters who were converging at various meeting points within the Central Business District.
Those who attempted to assemble outside the National Centre, National Archives, Kencom and Jeevanjee grounds were swiftly arrested.
Amnesty International Kenya also said they will deploy protest observers at the occupancy of the parliament demonstration.
In a statement shared on X, Amnesty shared that today's call for Kenyans to assemble outside parliament is in line with the rights of Kenyans to assemble, demonstrate, picket and petition parliament under the constitution of Kenya Article 37.
"Our protest observers will be at the Occupy Parliament protest today, documenting and recording the events. We urge authorities to uphold Kenyans' Right To Protest," Amnesty International stated.
Additionally, Amnesty added that the focus of the picket is to express the views of Kenyans on the 2024/2025 Budget and taxation measures being proposed.
Amnesty International Kenya and other human rights organisations have trained and deployed observers to document and record what may happen outside the National Assembly.
"We urge the authorities to facilitate Kenyan's rights to express themselves and assemble peacefully throughout the day," Amnesty International added.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission called on the police to stop the arrests.
They said that Kenyans coming out to protest over the Finance Bill are also fighting for their rights.
"The police don't understand: We are fighting for their rights, too. Stop the arrests, our constitution grants us the right to protest. Still, if the arrests persist, we won't be deterred," KHRC said in a statement on X.
The protest came ahead of the tabling of the Finance Bill, 2024 report by the National Assembly's Finance and Planning Committee.