Anybody who opposes the proposed security bill is instantly tagged; Terrorist Sympathizer This is sheer propaganda. My concerns against the bill are as follows. 1: Articles 62 to 66 gives powers to NIS to arrest and detain people and could violate due process rights. The bill expands the powers NIS to stop and detain suspects, search and seize private property, and monitor communications without a court warrant. Obviously the opposition will be their first target if the frivolous claims by this government about the opposition and political activists in the past are anything to go by. These powers were repealed in the 1990s from the special branch. 2: Article 62 allows NIS officers to “do anything necessary to preserve national security” and to detain people even on suspicion of “engaging in any act or thing or being in possession of anything which poses a threat to national security.” This is very ambiguous and prone to abuse, what is anything necessary? 3:Article 18: to enable police to extend pre-charge detention for up to 90 days with court authorization, well beyond the 24-hour limit that Kenyan law currently allows. Why should someone be detained for 90 days without trial? 4: Article 19, to allow prosecutors to not disclose evidence to the accused if “the evidence is sensitive and not in the public interest to disclose.” One of the tenets of an adversarial court process is that the accused must be informed of the charges being leveled against him so that he can mount a proper defense. Ironically, this is the same law Uhuru was crying foul about at the ICC saying that the OTP was denying him his rights by not fully disclosing all the evidence they had against him to his defense team. 5: Article 4 would authorize the cabinet secretary for interior, a presidential appointee, to decide when and where public meetings can be held. Most demonstrations are usually against the government anyway. Why should the cabinet secretary therefore decide when and where people should demonstrate? If Ole Lenkus unfortunate outbursts about the opposition are anything to go by, we know how this will go. Furthermore, what does this have to do with terrorism? There is the very controversial dissemination of information clause which I have left out; the part that touches on the media, because the media are idiots who sold us out and they should fight their own battle. They had this coming to them. I have included a link of the full security bill for your digest. knchr.org/Portals/0/Bills/THE%20SECURITY%20LAWS%20AMENDMENT%20BILL%202014.pdf
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 09:02:56 +0000
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