House team supports bill seeking to ban protests near Parliament, State House » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya Jul 1 – Members of Parliament are mulling supporting legislative proposal seeking to cushion them from invasion during heated protests in the country following the invasion of Parliament and other government institutions during the June 25 protests.

The proposed law before the National Assembly Committee on National Administration and Internal Security which has already drawn support from several MPs, comes in the wake of violent demonstrations that rocked parts of the country last week in commemoration of the June 25th protests anniversary.

The Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2025, seeks to outlaw protests within a 100-meter radius of protected areas as defined by the Protected Areas Act.

These include precincts of Parliament, the Judiciary, and State House. It also empowers the Cabinet Secretary for Interior, in consultation with county governments, to designate specific zones for assemblies and demonstrations in urban areas.

Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris has defended the amendment to the Public Order Act that seeks to bar public protests near strategic government installations including Parliament, State House, and courts.

 “Public calls to invade Parliament and State House circulated online… These are not peaceful protests. Rights have been turned into ruins,” Passaris stated.

While acknowledging that the Constitution protects the right to peaceful assembly and demonstration, Passaris said that right must be exercised with caution and responsibility.

She cited Article 24 of the Constitution, which allows the state to limit certain rights and freedoms by law, and only to the extent that the limitation is reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom.

The bill comes on the heels of last week’s anti-government protests, held to commemorate Gen Z demonstrators who lost their lives during similar protests in 2024.

Although the gatherings began peacefully, they later descended into chaos. Police clashed with demonstrators in several towns, and damage was reported at key government installations such as Kikuyu Law Courts, Nyandarua Police Station, and county government offices.

Human Rights Organizations have confirmed that by June 27, 2025, at least 19 people had died and 531 had sustained injuries linked to the demonstrations.

In addition, 15 enforced disappearances, 179 arrests, and at least five cases of sexual violence, including two gang rapes were recorded.

Passaris argued that the proposed law is a direct response to this tragic turn of events that have occurred in the country during demonstrations.

“In recent protests, supermarkets were looted, women raped, people terrorised. Rogue actors turned rights into ruin. This Bill is a direct response to the crisis,” she said.

Under the bill’s provisions, anyone found violating the 100-meter protest boundary would face a fine of up to Sh100,000 or imprisonment for up to three months, or both.

“The whole idea of the Bill is to protect the pillars of our democracy. You have to have a certain area where you can’t reach as a demonstrator, and you have to respect that,” Passaris told the committee.

The House team expressed support for the legislation, terming it timely and necessary to safeguard national institutions from civil disorder.

Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo, who chairs the committee, termed the bill as timely as the country was at a crossroads following the mayhem witnessed as Kenyans exercised the freedom to picketing saying it was time to draw lessons from recent unrest.

“The country is at a crossroads; we must take lessons. As much as citizens have a right to picket, it must be done in an orderly manner,” he said.

Mandera East MP Hussein Weytan supported the amendment proposal saying there was a need to bring structure and safety during the protests in the country.

“Nobody is safe. Anytime people can come to Parliament, go to State House, go to police stations,” Weytan said.

Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma also backed the Bill but urged for revisions to refine its intent. He added that the legislation should clearly define which matters require street demonstrations and which should be addressed through petitions to the courts.

“That law should also define what matters we should assemble [over], do you need to petition? For instance, what we were dealing with last Wednesday they wanted compensation for the children we lost last year during the demonstrations. Is that a matter of petition in court or a matter of demonstration?” Kaluma posed.

Kisumu County MP, Rosa Buyu said the greater question should be focused on why people picket, noting that it comes at a time they are expressing displeasure and the public to know they are unhappy about an issue.

“My issue is, when we designate areas for picketing, for example, decide that anybody who wants to demonstrate, should go to an area that basically has no people… And then we send them to go and picket somewhere in a solitary area. Would you therefore be curtailing their freedom of expression to be heard? Because you have taken us to an area with no people, and you’re telling us, that’s where you can go and shout yourself hoarse,” Buyu said.

Nyakach MP Aduma Awour warned MPs not to pass the law emotionally following the Gen-Z demonstrations but rather deal with the injustices that are being raised by Kenyans.

 “Let us not use emotions and enact laws that can’t be implemented, if you say people should not come near Parliament and they come in their thousand will you shoot them all.” He posed.

Passaris dismissed any similarity to the legislative proposal to the controversial Assembly and Demonstration Bill, 2024 sponsored by now Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku

According to her, Ruku’s bill sought to regulate individual conduct during protests, while her proposal focuses on establishing order and spatial boundaries to prevent violence.

“My bill is not like the Assembly and Demonstration Bill. His focused on individual conduct, mine speaks to cleaning up the environment of the demonstrations,” she said.

Currently, the Public Order Act (Cap. 56) requires any organizer of a public meeting or procession to notify police at least three days before the event.

 It also mandates that gatherings take place between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. and requires organizers to submit details such as names, addresses, venue, and expected duration. The law provides for penalties against those involved in unlawful assemblies or who fail to comply with police instructions.