Police officers were the real threat on June 25

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Gen Z members gathered at Uhuru Park Nairobi to honor comrades killed during anti-tax protests on July 7, 2024. [Samson Wire, Standard]

The violence that many feared would happen during the second commemoration of the June 25, 2024, protests last week did not materialise.

The protests did not take off as expected after police officers barricaded all routes to Nairobi's Central Business District and ensured protesters did not assemble or get to town. Many of those who attempted to were arrested and later arraigned.

The fact that the police effectively banned the protests without any court order is a matter that should concern every Kenyan who values constitutional freedoms. The right to picket, demonstrate, and present petitions to public authorities is not a privilege dispensed at the discretion of the Inspector General of Police. It is a fundamental right enshrined in Article 37 of the Constitution, and it comes with the force of the supreme law behind it.