The government has told business owners who want extra security for their establishments to liaise with the police to enable proper coordination.
In a statement by the Ministry of Interior on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, the Government said they were on high alert concerning the insecurity posed by protest infiltrations and the cases of violence and disruption of public order.
“We urge business and private building owners guarding their property to liaise with the area police for the orderly management of security,” the statement read in part.
The Ministry noted that criminals camouflaging as peace-loving will be dealt with firmly in strict adherence to the law and the National Police will continue to pursue all those culpable, whether the crimes were committed today or in the past.
This comes after a section of business owners in Nairobi deployed men with batons to counter any attempts at looting and destruction of property in their shops.
On Monday, July 15, 2024, a business lobby group in Nairobi warned looters and vandals that they were prepared for them should they infiltrate the Tuesday, July 16, 2024, peaceful demos.
“So, what we are saying is that now, we are going to protect our businesses. The Nairobi business community will be in town and there will be no business that will be closed, business will have to go on as usual and we shall protect them,” Nairobi business community chair Wilfred Kamau said.
Businesses closed
Despite the assurances, most businesses in the city remained closed for the better part of Tuesday morning to the evening after protesters arrived in the Central Business District (CBD).
The Interior Ministry says the current security situation is courtesy of the infiltration of the otherwise peaceful protests by criminals.
“What began as an expression of divergent opinion over the financial vision for the country has tragically escalated to a situation where we are sadly counting the number of lives lost, the value of property destroyed and families deprived of livelihoods,” the Ministry said.
They noted that while the police are guided by the National Police Service Act which prohibits the use of excessive force in the execution of their duties, Section 49 of the Police Service Act allows the security officers to use force only when it is necessary and to the extent required in the execution of their duties.
The Ministry also noted that security agencies were under instruction to exercise restraint during peaceful protests and to observe the use of non-lethal force to ensure public safety.
“The police can indeed be compelled to use reasonable force when isolated and specific scenarios of protests escalate to criminalities including rioting, looting and burning of properties, disruption of traffic through the erection of roadblocks on major highways and invasion of critical and protected infrastructure,” the statement clarified.
Shops in Kitengela were broken into, vandalized and looted by a section of rioters in Kitengela on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, after residents took to the streets to pressure the Kenya Kwanza administration to put an end to corruption, unemployment and excessive use of police force.