Duale confirms KDF deployed countrywide until normalcy returns

Defense Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale confirmed Friday night that the recent deployment of Kenya Defense Forces covers all parts of the country.

In a new Gazette Notice arising from High Court ruling requiring the CS to indicate the scope of the deployment of military internally, Duale indicated the men and women in the army will assist the police to restore and maintain order countrywide.

“Based on the prevailing threats to national security planned and orchestrated through various platforms in the cyber space, the deployment will cover the Forty-Seven Counties within the Republic of Kenya where critical installations and infrastructure are located in order to assist the National Police Service preserve life, preserve the internal security of the State, protect property as well as maintain law and order,” Duale noted in Gazette Notice No. 7868.

As to how long the latest deployment is to last, the CS confirmed that KDF will work alongside their police counterparts until law and order returns to all parts.

“The deployment shall continue until normalcy is restored,” noted the notice

On Thursday, High Court Judge Lawrence Mugambi directed that the terms of military engagement, and duration of engagement be clearly defined and gazetted within the next two days to alleviate public fear that their constitutional liberties could be in jeopardy and also to give public confidence that their liberties will be observed during the duration of military engagement.

“Deploying the military in a blanket manner without defining the scope or nature of the intervention, the duration of such intervention, is a dangerous trend that can bring about militarization of the country which is antithetical to the enjoyment of rights and freedoms,” he argued