Nairobi Regional Police Commander Issa Mohamud has declared Tuesday, July 7's planned  Saba Saba march illegal, warning that anyone who shows up will be treated as a criminal.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

During a July 6 presser, he affirmed that organisers never bothered to notify the police, and that's a legal requirement for any public gathering in Kenya, according to him.

"We have not received any notification, even from the neighbouring counties. To us, the planned protests are merely allegations and are therefore illegal. A peaceful and unarmed demonstration starts with a notification indicating the date, routes and time. That has not happened,” stated Mohamud.

Without that notification, he says, the whole thing amounts to nothing more than social media chatter and unverified claims.

📌 What You Need to Know

According to him, a genuine peaceful protest always starts with proper paperwork, spelling out the date, the route and the exact time.

None of that happened this time around, which is exactly why police are refusing to recognise the march as lawful.

To coordinate the response, Mohamud says he met with commanders from Kiambu, Machakos and Kajiado, since these counties tend to face similar headaches during protest season.

"We have held meetings with commanders from Kiambu, Machakos, Kajiado and Nairobi because we face common challenges during protests. We have seen reports on social media about the planned Saba Saba demonstrations tomorrow, but we have never been notified, which is a legal requirement," stated Mohamud.

Their shared concern is that past demonstrations have collapsed into chaos, and they fear that some people plan to exploit tomorrow for looting and violence.

"If you gather anywhere tomorrow, we will treat you as criminals. We are aware that the previous protests failed, and that there are plans to incite violence and engage in looting. We will deal with anyone involved firmly," said Mohamud.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke