Sweeping Powers Will Restore Climate Of Fear
PRESIDENT Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto insist that all the proposals contained in the Security Laws (Amendment) Bill 2014 are good for the country.
The government is seeking to amend 34 Acts of Parliament in one go and introduce, among other things, sweeping powers for the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
If the law is passed NIS will have the power to arrest and detain terror suspects, or anyone they designate as such, for a year, a provision that negates the current laws that allow police officers to arrest any suspect and present the same person in court within 24 hours.
The security services have been long criticized for their violations of human rights, particularly the last time the spies had these selfsame powers, and to give NIS so much leeway will amount to re-establishing the climate of fear that reined under the much-feared Special Branch, which arrested, detained and tortured anyone they preferred to believe was breaking the law, with scant reference to lawyers and magistrates.
The cumulative effect of the amendments could return Kenya to the police state of the 1980s and '90s, and nullify recent progress on protecting human rights. We therefore urge all MPs to reject this particular amendment and others that seek to claw back the gains Kenyans have made under the new constitution.
Quote of the day: "I ought to be jealous of the tower. It is more famous than I am." - French civil engineer and architect Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was born on December 15, 1832
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Sweeping powers will restore climate of fear | The Star