Kenyans must "wake up, take a stand and defend the constitution and freedom" as the risk is an
overthrow and
dictatorship, lobbyists have said.
Civil societies raised concerns raised during a forum of the
International Commission of Jurists in Nairobi on Friday evening.
"We have seen university students being beaten, tortured and raped by police officers, who forcibly removed them from their lecture rooms and halls of residence, to terrorise them. No one has been held to account," said Njonjo Mue, a human rights lawyer and a transitional justice expert.
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Mue further said:
"We have witnessed the naked intimidation of the Judiciary and threats directed at judges following the nullification of the August election with ominous promises by the President to re-visit and fix the Judiciary if re-elected.
"We have also seen the passing of amendments to election laws whose sole purpose appears to be to circumvent the Supreme Court judgement."
He also cited acting Interior CS Fred Matiang'i's ban on NASA demonstrations, saying this was "in violation of the clear provisions of the constitution."
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"DISSENT OUTLAWED ON WHIMS"
This comes after June's KTN News interview where Jubilee vice chair and President Uhuru Kenyatta's confidant warned that Kenya should be prepare for a more lethal, brutal and ruthless second term .
David Murathe
also said the constitution will be amended to give "the President power to make executive orders".
He has hit the airwaves lately with the argument that Kenya needs a benevolent dictator.
Mue said: "What we seeing shows the dictatorship that Murathe promised and continues to campaign for is already here. It’s just
not that benevolent.
"For dictatorships are the ones that brutalise young people seemingly without consequence. Dictatorships are the ones who instrumentalise parliaments and intimidate Judiciaries."
He added such systems change laws to suit their short-term desires and outlaw public expressions of dissent at a whim.
As a community of jurists, Mue said, they will remain politically non-partisan and unapologetic for their bias towards democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
"We have a responsibility to defend our constitution whenever it comes under threat. And at this critical moment, history is summoning us one more time to take a stand,."
"OCTOBER 26 LIKELY TO JOIN LIST OF SACRED DAYS"
On the planned October 26 repeat election, the lawyer said: "If Jubilee goes ahead with its plan to circumvent the Supreme Court judgment, reintroduce the discredited manual system of result transmission, and fundamentally alter the design of the IEBC to suit its own ends, then the period between October 26 and beyond will mark another watershed for Kenya's history."
"We will be faced with a decision - whether to agree to rubber-stamp a coronation in the name of an election or take a stand to defend our democracy."
"In the same way, if our politicians do not step back from the brink and rise up and lead our country out of the current crisis, October 26 is likely to join this list of our sacred days. For it will be the day that Kenyans will decide whether to submit to David Murathe’s dictatorship or to take a stand and defend their freedom."
NASA candidates Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoa withdrew from the election and reiterated they will not participate without reforms.
Supporting Opposition leaders in Mombasa said details of NASA's election plan will be given at a mega rally at Mama Ngina grounds on Sunday.
Mue referred to biblical stories, saying: "Speaking to the children of Israel in the early days of their nationhood, their leader Joshua challenged them in these timeless words: 'Choose this day whom you shall serve, whether the gods your ancestors served or the gods of the Amorites.
But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord'.
"In the same way, the time is coming and will soon be upon us when the Kenyan people must choose whether they will serve the gods of the old order that seems so determined to re-establish itself or whether they will stand up and defend their constitution."
NASA has compared himself to Joshua and said he is taking Kenyans to the promised land. But Jubilee supporters have dismissed him as a "fake Joshua" who has been unable to accept defeat in elections.
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