Court bars use of force by police to enforce curfew

A judge has issued orders barring police boss Hilary Mutyambai from using force on the public in enforcing the ongoing curfew.

Constitutional Court judge Weldon Korir further stopped the police boss from interfering with media coverage of the curfew.

Mutyambai, has also been given 48 hours within which he should publicise in newspapers of national circulation, and concurrently file in court for scrutiny, guidelines on the conduct of police officers enforcing the curfew.

Judge Korir’s order arose out of an application filed by the Law Society of Kenya decrying the brutality meted on Kenyans by police officers enforcing curfew which was announced as a measure to stop the spread of coronavirus.

"The Applicant/Petitioner, the Law Society of Kenya has through the pleadings filed in court established a prima facie case with a likelihood of success," the judge said.

In its case LSK had said that on March 26, the state-imposed an illegal, illegitimate and inappropriate 7 pm to 5 am curfew order throughout the country.

“The curfew poses a great and imminent danger to the general health and safety of thousands of Kenyans, particularly the poor and vulnerable members of the society as it's disproportionate and draconian in a free and democratic society,” the petition reads.

LSK claims that on Friday last week, the police who were claiming to implement the curfew unleashed a campaign of terror and violence against the public.

The petition further says that the police teargassed and violently assaulted vulnerable persons like pregnant women, the elderly and the sickly.

LSK says police also beat up providers of excepted essential services such as watchmen, supermarket workers, and food truck drivers and medical persons who were on their way from or to work.

The parties in the case are expected to file all their replies together with skeleton submissions before 2 pm on April 1 for the case to be heard the following day.