The National Security Advisory Council, however, insists that police be notified three days ahead of any political rally as required by law.
The author of the post also states that he knows DP Ruto will disregard the directive and still hold rallies.
A Facebook post claiming that the National Security Advisory Council (NSAC), through the Head of Public Service, Joseph Kinyua, has banned all political gatherings organised by Deputy President William Ruto is FALSE.
The post says that NSAC perceives the gatherings called by the DP to “divide Kenyans along social-economic lines”, adding that Mr Kinyua urged the media not to air such political activities.
The author of the post also states that he knows DP Ruto will disregard the directive and still hold rallies. Further, the political faction dubbed “Tangatanga”, which supports the deputy president will “transport goons to those rallies and police deployed to deal with them,” the post adds.
The post does not say when or where the sentiments attributed to the NSAC were made.
While the NSAC has acknowledged heightened political tensions in the country as a result of early campaigning for the 2022 elections, it has not banned political gatherings convened by Mr Ruto as claimed by the post.
Rather, during a press conference on October 7, the NSAC invoked Section 5 of the Public Order Act that requires all conveners of public gatherings to notify the police three days before they take place.
The NSAC also directed that organisers of political gatherings should be present throughout the meeting, maintain law and order and not use language that discriminates or incites people on the basis of ethnicity, tribe, colour, religion, gender, disability or otherwise.
The NSAC has further called on all those who attend public rallies to exercise a high degree of civic duty and responsibility and not be in possession of any weapons.
The media and social media users have also been asked to take responsibility for all the content they publish and broadcast from such meetings.
Mr Kinyua says that if left unchecked, the utterances and political weaponization of public gatherings will undermine law and order in the country.
“This situation is increasingly polarizing the country along ethnopolitical lines and therefore undermining national cohesion peace and security and derailing our transformative economic agenda,” he said.
PesaCheck has looked into the claim that the National Security Advisory Council (NSAC), through an announcement made by the Head of Public Service, Joseph Kinyua, has banned all political gatherings organised by Deputy President William Ruto, and finds it to be FALSE.