Duale Defends Military Deployment During June 2024 Protests, Cites Constitutional Powers

In his vetting as the nominee for Environment Cabinet Secretary, Aden Duale has argued that he did not directly deploy the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) during the anti-government protests that rocked the capital on June 25, 2024.

Duale spoke before Parliament’s Committee on Appointments, responding to a question from Kathiani MP Robert Mbui.

Mbui had stated, “In the recent demos when Kenyans were exercising their constitutional rights under Article 37, the military was deployed to Kenyans streets via a gazette notice 7861 signed by you on June 25, 2024.”

Mbui questioned the intention behind sending the military, known for using live ammunition to the protesters

Duale defended the decision, stating, “I did not deploy KDF, the framers of the Constitution put Article 241 3(b) and 3(c) in the Constitution. So Kenya Defence Forces are in the streets; they’re in Boni Forest fighting Al-Shabaab, they’re in North Rift making sure that we deal with banditry, they were in Westgate during the terror attack, they were in Garissa University during the terror attack where we lost many people.”

He further explained that his role as the then-Defence CS was to “gazette the deployment in line with Article 241 3(c) of the Constitution which allows the troops to restore peace in areas affected by unrest.”

Duale argued that the military deployment was necessary to protect key institutions like Parliament and the Supreme Court, as well as to restore public safety when the police were overwhelmed by the protesters.

He stated, “If KDF did not come in to assist the other security agencies, God forbid, many Members of Parliament could’ve died, including our Speaker, Parliament could’ve been burnt.”

The story comes amid concerns over the use of excessive force by the police during the protests, with the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reporting 60 lives lost and 66 people missing.