Matiang’i was right to ban street riots, a clear and present danger

It is amazing how selective we can be in our interpretation of the Constitution when it suits our purposes. Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has once again infuriated a huge number of Kenyans for doing his duty according to the law, and he is not going to hear the last of it in the foreseeable future.

The problem with Matiang’i is that he had the audacity to ban demonstrations in the streets of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu to maintain law and order, which is his duty as the man in charge of Internal Security.

It is a fact that the Constitution allows freedom of expression and the right to hold demonstrations and to picket.

But it is also a fact that the government has the constitutional duty to maintain law and order, and to ensure the rights of others are not infringed upon by picketers.

Balancing these constitutional rights and the government’s responsibility to safeguard every citizen’s security and property rights can be a very tricky affair if one side does not play by the rules.

BRUTALITY

While there can be no excuse for the kind of brutality visited on demonstrating university students recently, it is also clear that to leave some situations unattended would be a dereliction of duty on the part of the authorities. Once the herd mentality is aroused, it is always difficult to control. Revolutions are organised by men and women who sit in offices, cosy in the belief that the end justifies the means.

They are happy when protests turn into riots.

The Constitution says, inter alia: “Every person has the right, peaceably and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket, and to present petitions to public authorities.” But it would be disingenuous to argue about the right to picket and conveniently ignore the phrase “peaceably and unarmed”. In some towns in Western Kenya, for instance, a few fighters for democracy have been televised carrying rocks in each hand. Whom were the missiles meant for?

I am no government spokesman, nor am I a businessman. But talk about your irreducible demands to the big retailer, the small shopkeeper or even the street hawker who has to close shop prematurely every day to thwart looters, vandals and other thugs whose aim is to make normal life impossible.

SPECIFIC

Tell that to the office worker who has to leave his car at home to avoid high repair bills although he may not care whether Ezra Chiloba goes home or stays.

READ: Nasa demos banned in three city centres - VIDEO

Why on earth can’t anyone see that these demonstrations are carefully crafted with a specific end in sight — to make the country ungovernable? It is difficult to understand how a presidential candidate can purport to pull out of an election and then tell his followers to go into the streets and engage police.

Do those who craft such daredevil stratagems really care for the people they purport to lead?

What is bound to happen is that the police will try to enforce the ban on demonstrations, and there will be defiance, which will inevitably lead to use of force and the situation will deteriorate.

There will be shouts about police brutality and repression, and then we will be back in 2007 all over again. The rise of a gang known as the ‘Nairobi Business Community’ is a very chilling development.

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To professional haters: Some advice for you. If you truly want to express your disgust with someone, you must follow some unwritten code of conduct.

Never ever start your diatribe by insulting your target in the first sentence. It’s bad form. You see, the art of insults has its conventions. If, for instance, you start by calling someone a mongrel cur, or describing him as a Jubilee youth winger, he will not read on to find out what other delicacy you have in store for him, which means your effort will have been wasted.

FRONTAL ATTACK

Do it gently, very much like the way you would seduce a woman. You use some form of guile and subterfuge to achieve your ends; a frontal attack simply won’t work.

In the case of hate messages, you must deliver them in progressive stages, and in that way ensure their recipient does not hit the delete key too fast.

In my case, this key has come in very handy in recent days, so please, don’t waste your time. This is just a tip.

Magesha Ngwiri is a consultant editor. [email protected]