The Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku has called for sweeping changes to Kenya’s Public Order Act, terming the current legislation outdated and a remnant of colonial repression.
Speaking during an interview on a local TV station on Thursday, July 3, 2025, Ruku said the government plans to repeal key sections of the law to align with the freedoms enshrined in the 2010 Constitution.
According to Ruku, the existing framework governing public gatherings, demonstrations, and picketing is anchored in a law designed to suppress Kenyan voices rather than protect their rights.
“The current law is anchored in the Public Order Act. It is a colonial enactment to gag Kenyans,” he said.
Ruku emphasised that sections 5 and 6 of the Act, which require organisers of demonstrations to notify authorities and give the police sweeping powers to regulate public assemblies, are particularly problematic. He announced that the government intends to repeal these two sections entirely.
“Sections 5 and 6 must be repealed. They are not fit for a free and democratic Kenya,” Ruku stated firmly.
“We should have subsidiary laws to make our constitution more lively, so that Kenyans should be able to enjoy freedom.”
He said the Public Order Act, which dates back to the colonial era, has long been criticised by civil rights groups for giving the state excessive power to limit peaceful protests and public gatherings.
Policies address current realities
In his arguments, the CS said the country needs new policies that reflect current realities.
“We need new laws that reflect the aspirations of the Kenyan people today, not the fears of a colonial regime. The existing Public Order Act is outdated, colonial, and not fit for a free Kenya,” he declared.
Ruku said that updating the law is not about promoting lawlessness, but about affirming citizens’ rights to assemble and express themselves without undue interference.
“These changes will not mean chaos. On the contrary, they will protect the people’s right to peaceful assembly, while still ensuring public order through fair and modern laws,” he said.
The CS further called on Parliament to fast-track the necessary legislative amendments and pledged the government’s commitment to public participation in shaping the new legal framework.
He said if Parliament adopts the changes, it would mark a significant milestone in the country’s democratic journey—one that may finally sever the legal cords tying Kenya’s civic space to its colonial past.
“We must move forward. We cannot continue to use the chains of the past to control the freedoms of the present,” he asserted.
