Government Bans NASA's anti-IEBC Demos within Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu CBDs

The government has banned National Super Alliance (NASA) anti-IEBC protests in central business districts of Kenya's three cities.

In a statement on Thursday, acting Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi said the ban was meant to protect Kenyans and their property from damage, citing Public Order Act.

The CS said that the government uses Section 56 of the Public Order Act to ban the demos within Kisumu, Mombasa and Nairobi CBDs. He said the ban does not in any suppress the right of National Super Alliance (Nasa) supporters to demonstrate and picket.

The ban was arrived at following National Security Advisory Committee meeting and that it “was due to the clear and imminent danger, for the time being”. Matiang'i said.

“We cannot go on this way. It is unfortunate to see people’s cars being smashed, property being destroyed in the guise of a peaceful demonstrations. We must respect the law,” he said.

This ban comes a day after the opposition outfit announced it will hold the demos on a daily basis starting Monday next week.

On Wednesday, several incidences of looting and destruction of property were reported in Kisumu and Nairobi during the opposition's protests.

“We shall prefer charges against him because he is the one that called the demos, after we have quantified the extent of the damage,” Dr Matiangi told journalists at Harambee House in Nairobi.

He asked traders who were affected by the looting of property during the protests to record statements with the police.