NAIROBI, Kenya Dec. 16 – Firearms should not be used to defend property or to prevent the escape of a person in custody.
The High Court on Friday, December 16 ruled that police officers can only use firearms to confront an imminent threat of death or serious injury.
Justice Anthony Mrima invalidated sections of the National Police Service (NPS) Act that allowed police to use firearms to protect property, prevent suspects from escaping and prevent a person who rescues or attempts to rescue a suspect from escaping from lawful custody.
Section 1(c), (d), and (e) of The Sixth Schedule of the NPS Act gave officers sweeping powers on use of firearms beyond the protection of their own lives and the lives of others.
The NPS Act was passed into law in 2011, effectively repealing the previous law.
On July 18, 2013 amendments to the NPSA were proposed in the NPS Amendment Bill 2013 which sought to add three new circumstances in which the use of firearms by the police is permissible.
The Bill was passed by the National Assembly on April 30, 2014 assented to on June 26, 2014 and published on July 4, 2014.
In 2017, Katiba Institute and Africa Centre for Open Government (AfriCOG) filed a constitutional petition to challenge the two sections of the law.
They argued that the amendments expanded the circumstances in which police can use firearms beyond self-defence and the protection of another person.
The International Justice Mission (IJM) and Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) were mentioned as interested parties.
“The amendments allowed officers, for example, to use their weapons to protect the property even if there were no risk of serious physical harm to the officer or others,” the petition read. The petitioners said the use of firearms when the officer was not at risk was unconstitutional, violating the rights to life, human dignity, freedom and security of the person, and fair hearing
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