Members of the opposition, who were against the new bill, expressed their displeasure by shouting\u00a0and tearing up their copies of the bill.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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The were reports of books being thrown at the Speaker while the deputy speaker\u00a0Joyce Laboso reportedly had water thrown on her.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”306qR2wbwEMxdmMLM3DLNY6UMfY9xcTT”]The\u00a0new law\u00a0will allow security agencies in the country to \u201cdetain terror suspects for up to one year, to tap communications without court consent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Journalists in the country would also have to seek permission from the police before publishing any story on terrorism related issues, while\u00a0landlords and hotels\u00a0would be compelled to\u00a0provide security officers with information about their tenants and guests.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The opposition however say\u00a0that Kenya was turning into a \u201cpolice state\u201d and that the bill, if passed would further compromise the county’s democratic beliefs.<\/p>\n
“The real target of this ‘law’ is not terrorism. Its aim is to reintroduce the police state and political hegemony,” the\u00a0Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Watch Video of the chaotic scenes in parliament here:<\/strong><\/p>\n