The President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, has approved a controversial new security law despite protests from the opposition who believe the law would lead to the violation of the rights and liberties of the citizens.
His ascent came a day after chaotic scenes in the Kenyan parliament marred deliberations over the bill on Thursday.
Members of the opposition, who were against the new bill, expressed their displeasure by shouting and tearing up their copies of the bill.
Lawmakers from both sides of the house were reportedly involved in fisticuffs, with images of several of them with torn clothes and scratches going viral on social media.
The were reports of books being thrown at the Speaker while the deputy speaker Joyce Laboso reportedly had water thrown on her.
[contextly_sidebar id=”306qR2wbwEMxdmMLM3DLNY6UMfY9xcTT”]The new law will allow security agencies in the country to “detain terror suspects for up to one year, to tap communications without court consent.”
Journalists in the country would also have to seek permission from the police before publishing any story on terrorism related issues, while landlords and hotels would be compelled to provide security officers with information about their tenants and guests.
The president has argued that the government needs more power in order to combat the Militant Islamist group al-Shabab who had intensified their attacks in the country in recent times, including two attacks earlier this month which killed more than 60 people.
The opposition however say that Kenya was turning into a “police state” and that the bill, if passed would further compromise the county’s democratic beliefs.
“The real target of this ‘law’ is not terrorism. Its aim is to reintroduce the police state and political hegemony,” the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) said in a statement.
Watch Video of the chaotic scenes in parliament here:
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @eddiekkofi