Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya has revealed that the gazette notice that announced the deployment of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) has not yet been revoked.
Appearing before the Senate plenary on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, Tuya said that the deployment of KDF to the streets on June 25, 2025, at the height of anti-government protests, was in support of the National Police Service. She says the deployment has not yet been revoked due to an ongoing court case.
“The deployment has not been revoked. There’s a matter actively in court. The deployment (of the KDF) on June 25th 2024 was in support of the National Police Service just like the other secondary operations that are within the country,” she stated.
The CS was responding to a question by Kitui Senator Enock Kiio Wambua, who felt that the deployment was outside the KDF’s prescribed mandate of protecting the nation.
“Armies world over are trained to basically do three things; fight, kill and die for the motherland. What battalion was released into the streets, what was the mandate of their mission, and has the gazette notice been revoked?” Wambua posed.
According to Tuya, KDF carried its duties in strict adherence to the law, and no law was broken in its deployments.
“The KDF is strictly bound by the principles of national security as defined by Article 238 of the Constitution. KDF is subject to the authority of the Constitution and Parliament and carries out its activities in strict compliance with the law,” she added.
According to Tuya, the deployment was within the law, which she says allows internal deployment of the armed forces in matters of national secuity.
“The Constitution makes provision for instances when KDF may be deployed internally. Therefore, for KDF to effectively discharge its mandate, it must retain situational awareness and on internal security issues at all times,” she added.
Francis Muli
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