Kimaiyo slaps ban on all political rallies

After falling into puddles of glue and hitting legal brick walls with the window tints order, the Inspector General of Police, David Kimaiyo has once again reached into his bag of orders this time pulling out an indefinite ban on all political rallies and processions with immediate effect. 

Proclaiming his latest idea on Tuesday through Twitter, the Inspector General sought to justify it saying it was in line with the Public Order Act, Chapter 56 Laws of Kenya also claiming that criminals could take advantage of such gatherings to commit vices.

The Public Order Act regulates public gatherings and states in the first subsection that: "No person shall hold a public meeting or a public procession except in accordance with the provisions of this section."

Kimaiyo's directive could be a cobbled up attempt to freeze the opposition in their tracks as it comes right up on CORD's rallies in the city that have been preparing supporters to welcome their coalition leader Raila Odinga on Saturday. The former Prime Minister is scheduled to address a rally at the KICC grounds on arrival.
The former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka is also set to address another rally in Mathare on Wednesday to woo voters in support of the opposition candidate in the coming by-election.

Not to be cowed by the predictable and cowardly ban, CORD maintained that their rallies would run as scheduled. Addressing a press conference outside the IG's office in Nairobi soon after Mr Kimaiyo's declaration, Siaya Senator, James Orengo said the ban was an attempt by the Jubilee administration to introduce dictatorship similar to what was witnessed in Kenya in the 1990s.

Former Deputy Speaker of Parliament Farah Maalim said they would hold a rally at Uhuru Park on Saturday, since they had been told that the planned Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) venue had already been booked. The press briefing was also attended by Bungoma Senator, Moses Wetang'ula.

Meanwhile, Majority leader in the National Assembly, Aden Duale has demanded that the Inspector General explains his latest ban. Acknowledging that the IG was within his rights to slap a ban on rallies, he said that he still owed Jubilee an explanation and affirmed that they too would not call off their rallies. Jubilee is set to hold a political rally in Kajiado over the weekend.