Military Deployment During Protests Was Needed Says Soipan Tuya.
Soipan Tuya, the nominee for Defence Cabinet Secretary, has clarified his concerns about the deployment of Kenya Defence Forces during recent anti-government protests.
The former Environment CS, recently replaced by her counterpart Aden Duale in the Defence docket, claims that the military is constitutionally mandated to step in and restore unrest in the country if the National Police Service requires it.
Ms Tuya, who spoke before the Committee on Appointments for Vetting on Thursday, stated that the Constitution allows the armed forces to be deployed in the country in two situations.
In the first scenario, Tuya stated that the KDF could be tasked with restoring order or saving lives.
They can, however, only do so in emergencies or natural disasters like floods and earthquakes, which do not require parliamentary approval.
According to the aforementioned deployment form, the KDF is expected to go into action first and then submit a report to Parliament later.
Tuya stated that the military comes second to other security agencies in this regard because it only provides assistance and is not in charge of the entire operation.
“The other facet of deployment is Article 241 3C, an aspect of deployment that cannot happen without the authority of parliament,” she said.
“To keep peace in instances of instability in the country, which cannot happen without the express approval of parliament, and in that instance, the KDF takes the frontline in operations.”
The second deployment type involves the military seeking permission from the parliament before conducting any operations.
She stated that the KDF now has control of the entire mission and, if approved, will take the frontline while other agencies assist.
According to Tuya, the deployment around Parliament appeared to be similar to the second facet, where authority should have been sought first, The then-CS Aden Duale invoked Article 241 (3b) by first tasking armed forces to restore order before seeking Parliament approval.
She went on to say that the KDF’s slow movement was because they were assisting the National Police Service rather than being on the front lines.
Military Deployment During Protests Was Needed Says Soipan Tuya.