The Azimio One Kenya Coalition has announced that starting next week; it will be holding demonstrations in all 47 counties.
Subsequently, the coalition notified the Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome of the intended protests.
In a letter to the IG dated March 22, 2023, the Azimio coalition said demonstrators across the country will submit petitions to county commanders and other state officers.
“This is to notify you that we will be holding demonstrations in all the 47 counties in the Republic of Kenya this Monday 27th March 2023 and Thursday 30th March 2023 and every subsequent Monday and Thursday thereafter,” the coalition said in the letter.
The letter was signed off by Azimio Executive Council chairman Wycliffe Oparanya.
“We indent to submit petitions to county commanders, sub-county commanders and all other state officers countrywide as part of the procession,” Oparaya said in the letter.
But even as they submitted the notification to the police, the opposition insisted that it was not an application for permission to hold the demonstrations.
“This is a notification to enable the police to provide adequate security to the demonstrators. By this notice, kindly provide adequate security,” the coalition said.
Public Order Act requires any Kenyan planning to hold a peaceful demonstration to notify the police at least three days before – indicating the time and place.
Plainclothes police
Further, it said it expected the police to provide protestors with the needed security during their procession.
It also warned against the deployment of plainclothes police officers as was the case during the March 20, 2023 protests in Nairobi.
“Further to this, we put on notice that we will allow only uniformed police to bear arms. Plainclothes in arms will be dealt with as thugs and hired goons and committed to civilian arrests as allowed per the law,” noted the Azimio Azimio Executive Council chairman.
The Azimio coalition started protests on Monday, with most of them held in Nairobi, Kisumu and Migori as well as parts of Kitale town in Trans Nzoia.
But with an announcement of two weekly protests, the opposition now seeks to spread their activities in all counties.
