The High Court, in a Land Mark ruling, has ordered that police officers deployed during demonstrations must always be in uniform and should not conceal their faces.
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) had sued an officer alleged to be behind the death of Rex Maasai, a protester who was shot during the Anti-Finance Bill 2024 demonstrations in Nairobi.
LSK was seeking that the court stops the Inspector General of Police from deploying officers in civilian clothes to quell protests.
It contended that all instances of murder and police brutality are linked to officers who have no identification cards or uniforms.
The court was told that the incognito appearance enabled the officers to blend in with the peaceful protestors exercising their rights under Article 37 of the Constitution of Kenya.
Further, the plainclothes police did not carry any form of identification and thus could not be distinguished from members of the public.
Meanwhile, in a different legal battle, a High Court ruling has found the Nairobi police's ban on protests in the city's central business district unlawful, awarding Sh2.2 million to a group of demonstrators who had challenged the decision in court.
The case was brought before the High Court by eleven individuals who had taken part in the anti-tax protests held in 2024.
At the centre of the dispute was a press statement issued by Bungei on June 18, 2024, in which he declared that protests and public gatherings would not be allowed within the city centre.
In a strongly worded judgment, Justice Bahati Mwamuye on Wednesday said the police had gone beyond their legal powers and violated several constitutional rights.
The court found the protest ban to be in breach of key freedoms, including the right to peaceful assembly, expression, dignity, and protection from unfair arrest.
The judge ruled that peaceful protests are a core part of any democracy and condemned the police’s response to the demonstrations.
Each of the eleven petitioners was awarded Sh200,000 in compensation for the harm they suffered, adding up to Sh2.2 million in total.
The petitioners claimed that police officers used force during the peaceful march, beating demonstrators with batons, firing teargas, and using water cannons.
"The Respondents beat, clobbered, maimed and tortured persons participating in the peaceful march, and in the process also treated them in a cruel, inhuman or degrading manner," they told the court.
They further stated that police used live ammunition against unarmed protesters and arrested them without giving any explanation.
They argued that these arrests were made under direct orders from the Inspector General and Bungei and that they were denied the right to speak to a lawyer or contact anyone.
"Despite the 3rd Respondent being fully cognizant of the intended peaceful march, he issued an arbitrary, illegal and unconstitutional press release to Media Newsrooms stating that he had banned any demonstration. This resulted in police officers engaging in the use of excessive and disproportionate use of force against persons participating in the peaceful march," they added.
In their plea, the petitioners asked the court to hold the police accountable and to grant them damages for the violation of their constitutional rights.
