The government should not allow any more demonstrations as they say are only leading to death, destruction and lawlessness, elders in Garissa have said.
Speaking to the press at a Garissa hotel, they said that while the right to peaceful assembly and expression is enshrined in the Constitution and must be respected, the increasing tensions, destruction of property and risk to human life are deeply troubling.
The Kenya Livestock Marketing Council chairman, Dubat Amey, said the time has come for all Kenyans to defend the nation from sliding into lawlessness.
“We don’t want our men and women to be incited into violence by self-seeking politicians because that is exactly what is currently happening,” Dubat said.
“If the whole thing is about seeking regime change, let us do it through constitutional means.”
Dubat said it was regrettable to see businesses looted, offices, houses and vehicles torched, all in the name of demonstrating.
The trend risks plunging the country into total chaos, he said.
“We have never witnessed peaceful demonstrations in this country. They have always been violent and disruptive. That is exactly what is happening. Let us sober up and stop all this,” he said.
“This country belongs to all of us. Our forefathers invested heavily in it to what it is today. It took a lot of sweat from them to get our country to where it is today.
“Now for someone to wake up and resort to looting, burning and destroying property that belongs to hardworking Kenyans, that is completely unacceptable.”
Garissa county chair for people with disability Aden Bille said no right-thinking Kenyan would support such demonstrations.
He said the demonstrations are erasing all the gains the country has made in terms of development.
“We all regret the loss of lives that should never have happened in the first place,” he said.
“However, we think the actions that have followed in the name of demonstrations are uncalled for. As we speak, hundreds of businessmen and women are counting losses amounting to millions.”
Bille singled out PWDs, whom he said are the most affected whenever there are demonstartions.
Most of them either had their small businesses looted or were themselves injured since they could not run to safety, he said.
James Maina, another elder, warned of instability, undermining the very objectives the protests seek to achieve.
He urged protest organisers, government authorities and all involved parties to seek peaceful avenues for addressing grievances.
Only through mutual understanding, transparency and inclusive engagement can lasting solutions be found, he said.
by STEPHEN ASTARIKO
