Following Nairobi Regional Commander Adamson Bungei’s demand that a letter be handed over to police officers indicating that any party intends to picket prior to the specify day, Azimio La Umoja leaders filed a notice to the commander on Tuesday informing him of the upcoming peaceful demonstrations on Monday 27th and Thursday 30th.
The letter, addressed to Mr. Bungei and submitted to Nairobi Regional Police Headquarters by some of the Azimio Coalition’s key leaders, including Eugene Wamalwa, Jeremiah Kioni, Wycliffe Oparanya, and Roots Party leader George Wajackoyah, stated that the protests would take place within Nairobi’s Central Business District and that police should be present to provide security for the protestors.
“The procession will take place in all the major streets making up the Nairobi Central Business District from dawn to dusk. We, therefore, request your office to deploy enough police officers to guarantee security to attendees and exercise crowd control,” read the letter.
This comes after Raila Odinga, the leader of Azimio La Umoja, announced on Tuesday that they will hold peaceful protests every Monday and Thursday of the week beginning next week until President William Ruto complies with their demands.
The Nairobi police commander, on the other hand, indicated that the notice, which should be guided by the law, should be addressed to respective regulating police officers in various stations in the areas where the mass protests will take place, instead of him.
“A police station’s commanding officer is the regulating officer. According to the law, the letter must be delivered to the police station. So, this letter needs to be given to the police officer in charge of the station where the procession will be place,” Mr. Bungei Said.
