By Eliud Owalo
As a Kenyan citizen, I wish to appeal to your Mother Country to extend a helping hand to the ordinary Kenyans by adding your voice to the calls by Kenyans for the repeal of the Controversial Security (Amendment) Act, 2014.
We do take due cognizance of your continued support to the people of Kenya whenever the Rule of Law, Democracy, Fundamental Human Rights, Press Freedom, Freedom of Assembly and Association are under threat. It is for this very reason that I am appealing to you to exert pressure on the Kenya Government to repeal the repressive laws which were enacted on the 19th December 2014.
I have no doubt in my mind that if left unrevoked, the retrogressive legislation will take the Country back to the dark days of its political history and thereby cause great suffering to the Kenyan people.
Sir, allow me to now provide you with the background and the repressive aspects of the said legislation. On the 18th December 2014, the Kenya National Assembly unprocedurally and forcefully passed the repressive Security (Amendment) Bill, 2014 without subjecting the same to full public scrutiny as required by the Constitution.
The Bill was hurriedly tabled and passed, despite the fact that it was strongly opposed within and outside the House. And many legislators from the ruling Jubilee Coalition admitted upon interview that they were coerced by the Executive to pass the Bill without much ado.
This admission was validated when President Uhuru Kenyatta signed the Bill into law, the following day, on 19th December 2014. The Security (Amendment) Act, 2014 affected 22 existing Statutes including the Evidence Act, the Criminal Procedure Act, Penal Code and the Civil Procedure Act.
Indeed, the New Security Law in its contents runs contrary to the Constitution for it contradicts the Supreme Law as far as Press Freedom, Freedom of Assembly and Association, Fair Trial, Freedom of Movement, Lawful Search and Arrest by Police, etc. are concerned. It ranks low in upholding Human Rights as stipulated under the Bill of Rights in the 2010 Constitution of Kenya.
Further, it provides the Security Forces with an open cheque to potentially infringe on every political, Civil, Media and Human Rights in the name of fighting terrorism in the Country. It has no checks and balances or accountability mechanisms for pre-emptying potential abuses by security forces.
It presumes that the security forces will always work in the best interest of the people, without ill-will or favour contrary to what is known about their activities under such legal provisions. Besides, the Security (Amendment) Act, 2014 is in stark contravention of International Treaties to which Kenya is a signatory and has International obligations to respect. Such International laws include: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), Universal Declaration on Human Rights (1948) and The International Press Freedom among others.
 In respect of principles of good governance, the Security (Amendment) Act, 2014 fails to demonstrate any regard to the need for a fair legal framework that is enforced by an impartial regulatory framework in the Country, by turning a blind eye to principles of rule of law, transparency and accountability on the part of security personnel.
Regarding Freedom of Expression, which includes freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without State interference – the law now makes it criminal to express certain ideas including political comments on matters of general public interest, artistic expressions, electronic expression of ideas, or passing of images/pictures and information sharing on matters of public interest, including staging public protests or demonstrations.
There is no more protection of free press including protection of journalistic sources. It is noteworthy that the new law criminalizes free expression by restricting what has to be published, imposing hefty fines on publications deemed criminal and requiring journalists to reveal their sources of information.
In the view of most Kenyans, the restrictions spelt by the new law are neither necessary nor proportionate. In the same vein, the provisions are not seen to be in pursuit of a legitimate aim but parochial political agenda. It is particularly imperative to emphasize here the chilling effect of journalists being required to assist the police in the identification of anonymous sources of their information. This literally amounts to killing press freedom and independent reporting. It also fails to outweigh the public interest in protection of journalistic sources.  As far as respect for Human Rights is concerned, the new law is a direct reversal of the Bill of Rights enshrined in the 2010 Constitution of Kenya.
Some of the repressive provisions of the Security (Amendment) Act, 2014 as highlighted here below, are that it:-
   1.    Removes the powers of the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) as regards the hiring of the Inspector General of Police (IG) and other senior Security Officers and vests such powers in the President. It also removes the tenure of office of the IG. The presumption here is that the President is capable of performing a better job in respect of hiring the IG and other senior Security Officials relative to the NPSC. This is the case as per the newly enacted Law  despite the fact that NPSC  was intended by the Constitution to, inter alia, bring independence, rationality, fairness and National outlook in the hiring of the IG and other Security officials;
 2.  Requires that those suspected of engaging in terrorism, money laundering, drug trafficking and human trafficking may be held by police for more than 24 hours despite the fact that the Constitution clearly stipulates that suspects arrested by police should be taken to Court within 24 hours. This provision will no doubt open the flood gates for all manner of potential abuses by security personnel who might now hold people incommunicado and arbitrarily for inordinate periods of time thereby occasioning awful violations;
 3. Requires that managers of hotels and housing industry will provide details of all guests to the police whenever demanded. Such details will include telephone numbers, sex of the guests, passports or ID numbers and professions. This provision is likely to be abused by Security Personnel for purposes of extortion and corrupt deals, and will in effect impact negatively on people’s privacy;
4.  Restricts public access to information through mobile phones, internets or publication and thereby, allows only access to information vetted and approved by Security Agencies, regardless of the authenticity, veracity or quality of such information. Clearly, this will make nonsense of critical, independent and frank reporting of events, facts and evidence as they unfold. This sounds a death knell to investigative journalism. It leaves one to wonder whether the intention of the Jubilee leadership is to transform Kenya into Stalinist Russia or North Korea;
 5.  Requires that terror victims cannot have their photos or images published without their consent or that of the police. This provides a blank cheque to security personnel for unchecked misinformation. Past police activities in such an environment are well known to many Kenyans;
6. Requires media managers to seek permission from police before broadcasting in any information which undermines investigations or security operations relating to terrorism. Failure to do so will attract severe penalty of three years imprisonment or Ksh. 5million or both;
 7. Requires that Ex-convicts previously imprisoned for terrorism and sexual offenses will be under police supervision for five years;
8. Empowers the Cabinet Secretary to decide when it is appropriate to intercept communication for purposes of detecting, deterring and disrupting terrorism; and
9. Has set a ceiling of 150,000 refugees in the Country at any given time.
Now, in light of the foresaid and in view of Kenyans’ past experience under repressive laws prior to the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, I sincerely believe that the said repressive, retrogressive and unconstitutional law will take the Country back to the dark days of the autocratic KANU era. It will facilitate awful breaches of Human Rights, Press Freedom, Political and Civil Rights. I am humbly therefore, not only appealing to you to come in as an agent of necessity by imposing Political and Economic Sanctions against President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Government to occasion the forestalling of the new Security Laws but also calling upon all progressive citizens of Kenya, the Local Press, Civil Society, Opposition Parties, Professional and business groups to rise up to the occasion and collectively demand:
      1.   Total respect for the Constitution of Kenya and the Country’s’ International Obligations by the Jubilee Government;
      2.   The upholding of the Bill of Rights and democratic practices as enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya by the Jubilee Government; and
      3.  Immediate withdrawal or repeal of Security (Amendment) Act, 2014.
DATED AT NAIROBI THIS WEDNESDAY THE 24TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2015.
ELIUD OWALO.
CC:
                   1.           The European Union(EU)
                   2.           The UN Security Council
                   3.           The World Bank
                   4.           The International Monetary Fund(IMF)
                   5.           Other International Donor Agencies
                   6.           International Human Rights Agencies
                   7.           AU Commission Secretariat
                   8.           EAC Secretariat
                   9.           Amnesty International
             10.           Article 19
             11.           The International Press Institute
             12.           Human Rights Watch
             13.           UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
             14.           Local and International Press
Mr. Owalo is a management consultant based in Nairobi.