What KDF Officers Are Prohibited From Doing During Internal Deployment
Kenya Defence Officers (KDF) were on Thursday, June 27 deployed across the city following an approval by the National Assembly.
As detailed in the Kenya Defence Forces Act, 2012, the KDF officers have to adhere to set guidelines and rules during their deployment.
For starters, according to the act, whenever KDF officers are deployed to assist the police in maintaining peace, they are referred to as military police officers.
Notably, during the deployment, the military personnel are barred from conducting investigations of a crime.
On the other hand, military police officers are allowed to arrest an individual or confiscate an item. However, they have to surrender the arrested individual immediately to the police.
“A member of the Defence Forces who arrests or detains any person or seizes any article or object shall as soon as possible hand that person, article or object over to the National Police Service or any other appropriate functionary designated by relevant law,” reads the Act in part.
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- What KDF Officers Are Prohibited From Doing During Internal Deployment
Further, all military officers need to observe the freedoms and human rights of Kenyans as enshrined in the 2010 Constitution.
“A member of the Defence Forces shall in respect of acts done or omitted to be done by him or her by this section be liable to the same extent as a member would have been liable in like circumstances if that member was a member of the National Police Service,” reads the act in part.
“A member of the Defence Forces shall in respect of acts done or omitted to be done by him or her by this section have the benefit of all the indemnities to which a member of that National Police Service would in like circumstances be entitled to.
Equally, as outlined in the Act, a police officer cannot assume command over a military police officer and vice versa.
The deployment of the KDF was gazetted on Tuesday, June 25 by Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale following the anti-Finace Bill protests that turned chaotic, especially in Parliament.
However, the move has been challenged by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and other civil groups who state that the deployment is unconstitutional.
The High Court of Nairobi is set to rule on the petition later in the day.
What KDF Officers Are Prohibited From Doing During Internal Deployment