Former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi has accused Chief Justice Martha Koome of laying the groundwork for the misuse of terrorism charges against protesters.
His comments follow the recent wave of mass arrests in the country, where hundreds of Kenyans who took to the streets during the June protests were charged with terrorism and subjected to high bail terms.
“She labeled an arson in Kikuyu as terrorism. On what yardstick did she make that determination? Taking the cue, Renson Ingonga, like Bernard Chunga before him, began the crackdown. We are back to the 1980s,” Havi stated on his official X account.
His statement references Chief Justice Koome’s visit to the Kikuyu Law Courts, which were razed during the June 25 demonstrations.
Speaking at the site of the destruction on June 26, Koome condemned the attack as more than just a criminal act, calling it an act of terrorism.
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“The extent of this damage is not just an act of criminal elements, but an act of terrorism,” Koome said.
She explained that despite the physical damage, no judicial records were lost, crediting the Judiciary’s digitized Case Tracking System (CTS).
“If they were destroying this place to destroy files and erase evidence, they did not succeed in doing that,” she affirmed.
Havi’s concerns come a few days after several concerned organizations raised alarm over the terrorism charges slapped on hundreds of Kenyans in recent times.
“We are deeply concerned by the continued misuse of the Prevention of Terrorism Act to manage public order in more than 100 other cases. This practice undermines Kenya’s criminal justice system and jeopardises critical international partnerships to safeguard national security,” Katiba Institute stated.
