Kenya's Police Commissioner Imposes 'Curfew' in KICC

Kenya Police Commissioner Major-General Mohammed Hussein Ali has reportedly issued orders purporting to impose what is literally a curfew within and around KICC during the period 28-29th December at which time the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) is due to officially announce the winner of the presidential elections. Meanwhile, Government spokesman announced that 28th December has been gazetted to be a Public Holiday; without necessarily informing the public that movement within and around KICC on 28th December has been 'outlawed' like the police commissioner claims.

It is instructive to recall that sometime in October this year, Maj-Gen Ali unashamedly banned the singing of the National Anthem of the Republic of Kenya at ODM public rallies terming them "seditious". Sedition is capital offence in Kenya. At that time, the police commissioner issued explicit orders to the police force to cancel, break up or stop any meetings at which the National Anthem is sung! Thankfully, no arrests have ever been reported of any Kenyan for publicly singing the national anthem.

Maj-Gen Ali, a career military officer, ought to take some lessons in public administration as well as obtain an understanding of what democracy is all about. Not only are these so called decrees a blatant transgression of human rights and freedom of assembly, they are also highly unconstitutional. Perhaps if Kenya was a police state, then we could begin to understand where Maj-Gen Ali was coming from.

Interestingly, Raila Odinga has repeatedly quoted the lyrics of the national anthem in many of his charged campaign rallies - something that the ODM-K candidate has attempted to emulate in ODM-K's modest Uhuru Park Rally this afternoon with mixed reactions.