Kenya's opposition bids to block new security law in court
Tue Dec 23, 2014 2:40pm GMT
* High Court to consider opposition challenge
* Government compares new law with U.S. measures after 9/11
* Opposition says civil liberties at risk
By Edith Honan
NAIROBI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Kenya's opposition coalition filed a court
challenge on Tuesday to overturn new anti-terrorism laws it says are hasty
and undermine basic freedoms.
The measures will allow suspects to be held without charge for 360 days,
four times longer than before, compel landlords to provide information about
their tenants, and punish media that print material "likely to cause fear or
alarm."
President Uhuru Kenyatta, who championed the amendments, has faced pressure
to boost security after a spate of deadly Islamist attacks over the past 18
months.
Somali militant group al Shabaab, which massacred 67 people in a Nairobi
shopping mall last year, killed more than 60 in two attacks this month in
northeastern Kenya.
The government says the new rules compare favourably with U.S. laws enacted
after 9/11. Opposition leaders say they threaten civil liberties and free
speech, and might unfairly target the minority Muslim population. It was not
clear how long the High Court would take to consider their challenge.
"Those who conceived these new laws and rushed them through the National
Assembly did so in the hope that Kenyans would be too busy enjoying the
(Christmas) season to notice the evil being plotted by their leaders," Raila
Odinga, an opposition leader and former prime minister, said in a statement.
"But we love our country and our freedom more than the merry-making."
The measures were approved last week during several chaotic sessions of
parliament, with rival lawmakers exchanging punches.
Nine foreign diplomatic missions, including the United States, Britain,
France, Germany, Canada and Australia, said in a statement that they
supported plans to improve security, but human rights should also be
respected.
Over the weekend, a spokesman for Kenyatta singled out the United States for
siding with "the noisemakers" and said Kenya's law was better than security
legislation adopted by the United States after the al Qaeda attacks of Sept.
11, 2001.
"What is more, Kenya has no Guantanamo Bay!" Munyori Buku, senior director
of public communication, said on the president's website. (Editing by Drazen
Jorgic and Mark Trevelyan)
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Received on Wed Dec 24 2014 - 10:35:21 EST