I’ve been reading the constitution for a series of posts on things I am not an expert in; this is one such post. You guys already know what I think about the police action at Kasarani, however, looking at it from a constitutional angle perhaps it is wrong.

The fourth chapter of our constitution section 24, subsection 5 talks about the rights that the police may limit:

1. Privacy
2. Freedom of Association
3. Assembly, Demonstration, Picketing and Petition
4. Labour Relations
5. Economic and Social Rights
6. Rights of Arrested Persons

Note, these rights can only be limited if parliament passes a law limiting them.

Over the last year or more, Kenya has been dealing with a series of terrorist attacks said to be the work of the Al Shabaab, an Al Qaida linked group based out of Somalia. The attacks had almost reached a fortnight frequency, like clockwork, on weekends. While in the past they’ve mostly used grenades in their attacks, which usually just take out one or two people, they’ve more recently changed tactic to have gunmen walk into public areas and shoot anything that moves. This has been more devastating with higher casualties, the most high profile incident being when 4 gunmen attacked Westgate mall.