‘I did not deploy KDF during anti-Gov't protests,' Aden Duale says

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

Duale spoke when he appeared before Parliament’s Committee on Appointments for vetting on Friday, in response to a question posed by Kathiani MP Robert Mbui.

“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,” said MP Mbui.

“Unlike police that use tear gas canisters, batons, rubber bullets, water canons, the military is known for live bullets, grenades, assault rifles, tankers and bombs. What was the intention behind sending the military to the streets? Was the plan to shoot to kill demonstrators?”

According to Duale, the decision to deploy the military to the streets amid chaos witnessed during the protests on June 25, 2024 - during which even Parliament was invaded by rowdy youth – was not directly made by him, but rather the Constitution itself.

He went ahead to state that his capacity as the Defence CS then, was merely 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.

“Why did I deploy KDF? 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 told the committee.

“For peace, public order and safety, where the police are overwhelmed, Article 241 3(b) kicks in; the function of the minister for Defence – by then me – is that once the Article kicks in, I am supposed to do certain subsidiary legislation, I gazette.”

Duale further defended the KDF deployment saying it was necessary to protect key institutions such as Parliament and the Supreme Court, as well as to restore public safety at a time when the police were overwhelmed by protesters.

He asserted that if the military did not step in to bring order on the said day, then Parliament would have completely been burnt down and even a few legislators lost their lives in the process.

"That day, the office of the Chief Justice and the Supreme Court, as an institution, was under threat and attack. Parliament and colleagues sitting here…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. I will not be that irresponsible as a minister for Defence with a provision of the Constitution," he noted.

He said that the protesters violated the law by breaching protected areas and hence prompted the decision to deploy military officers countrywide.

"In all my life in Parliament, people used to come and present petitions, and any MP who was outside used to receive and take it to the office of the Clerk or the Speaker. I have never seen where people want to come and burn Parliament. So I want to thank the framers of the Constitution…that day, June 25th, I realized how important Article 241 3(b) and 3(c) are,” he said.

Duale's remarks come at a time when the police was called out for using excessive force on unarmed protesters. 

According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), the number of lives lost during the protests stands at 60 while 66 persons were reported missing.