The Kenyan Bar Association (LSK) recently wrote to the AG, requesting that KDF deployment to the North Rift be made more official by first obtaining consent from the National Assembly. If this doesn’t happen, the group threatened legal action against the drill.
The society, in a letter signed by its president Eric Theuri and dated February 16, 2023, and received by the AG’s office on February 17, 2023, stated that while it was aware of the security challenges faced by residents of Turkana, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo West, Pokot, Samburu, and Laikipia, the government should not deploy extra-constitutional methods to restore peace.
The government’s decision to send in the KDF to put an end to banditry in all affected areas was defended by the top officials. The administration, according to Chelugui, is determined to put a stop to banditry, and he added that security personnel are already on the ground to confront the criminals.
Officials in neighboring counties of Baringo and Isiolo have taken issue with the LSK s decision to file a formal complaint against sending Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) troops to areas with a high crime rate. The politicians supported the government’s decision to deploy the KDF to subdue banditry in all impacted areas during Saturday’s funeral for Tony Barkutwo, who was killed by bandits.
Simion Chelugui, Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and SMEs, stated that the government is determined to put an end to banditry and that security agents are already on the ground to confront the bandits. LSK, on the other hand, is against the KDF deployment since, according to them, the Interior Ministry made the amendments without consulting the National Parliament.
LSK President Eric Theuri sent a letter to Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki delivering a three-day ultimatum in which he argues that the deployment is illegal under the country’s 2010 constitution.
If ” no action is taken within the next three days, ” LSK President Theuri has threatened to go to court to have the gazette notices invalidated and to force the government to follow the law.
