National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has called on protestors planning to commemorate the June 25th demonstrations to do so peacefully.
Speaking on Tuesday June 24, 2025, during a meeting with outgoing Acting US Ambassador Mark Dillard who also sought to know plans the House had regarding the volatile situation, Wetang’ula said his expectation was that the protests would be non-violent and peaceful.
“This talk of a memorial for the last disturbances, if it is peaceful demonstrations it shouldn’t be an issue, on the issues they have raised, Parliament is ready to address them, if it degenerates into violence, it is out of my hands and other agencies will handle that, but I hope it will be okay,” said Wetang’ula
Ambassador Dillard, making reference to a statement attributed to the US Embassy, expressed concern over what seemed to be excessive use of force on protesters.
“We are keen on the issue of accountability, making sure the police are held accountable,we expect the commemoration to be non-violent,” Amb. Dillard said.
Dillard also raised concern over the unfortunate death of blogger Albert Ojwang in police custody.
“I directed that the Interior Cabinet Secretary appear tomorrow to testify on the issue of the teacher and any other matters that members have raised,” responded the Speaker.
Wetang’ula once again reiterated his earlier message that rogue elements within the national police service should be dealt with without criminalising the entire police service.
“Police do a good job in protecting lives and property, in their absence there is chaos. But if there are rotten apples among them, we pluck them out and deal with them as individuals because a criminal remains a criminal whether he joins the police, the military or remains a civilian, they will still do their criminal activities whenever we identify one, they must be dealt with,” he said.
“The demonstrators may be very genuine, but we have hooligans and criminals who infiltrate, start terrorising traders and looting their property, it becomes criminal activities,” he added.
The Speaker however noted that there was a need to generate legislation that will guide the implementation of a Constitutional provision on picketing and how the grievance will be channeled to the responsible organ or institution.
“Without legislation, I sat with the leadership of the House and directed them that there are picketers at the gate, the whips for the Majority and Minority side go to the picketers, speak to them, collect their petitions if any and advise that we will attend to this so that it does not become a spectacle and hindrance to members coming in to Parliament and police stepping in and what follows is mayhem, if it is orderly, people can express themselves,” Wetang’ula stressed.
“It’s a difficult balance to manage, facilitating people’s rights to speak, while protecting property rights, lives and safety,” Amb. Dillard added.
The two however agreed that peace was an active ingredient in providing a firm foundation for economic growth and the stability of a country.
