When Mwai Kibaki’s National Rainbow Coalition ended the 40-year postcolonial dominance of KANU and swept to power in elections in December 2002, the people of Kenya expected better of him than the draconian piece of anti-terrorism legislation that his government now wants Parliament to pass. The Suppression of Terrorism Bill is a dangerous piece of law which in the short term could lead to discrimination against Kenyan Muslims in particular, and in the long term could endanger the whole fabric of a truly democratic Kenya.
Among other things the bill would permit police to arrest suspects and search property without authority from the courts. It would also permit the detention incommunicado of suspected terrorists for 36 hours. Such measures are a threat to all Kenyans and particularly to the 30 percent of the population which is both Muslim and of largely Arab origin.
The fingerprints of the United States are all over this bill, which has strong similarities to the US Patriot Act of 2001. US intelligence chiefs, such as those in George W. Bush’s African tour retinue, were twisting arms behind the scenes, while their president shook hands in public. They have clearly pushed this piece of legislation forward. No doubt, in return, there have been promises.
In demanding these measures, the Americans demonstrate their ignorance of Kenyan society. All Washington cares about is that there were two major terrorist incidents in the country, in 1998 and 2002 which claimed 241 lives, and that Muslims live in Kenya. To combat terrorism, they are therefore prepared to let the country tear itself apart with deeply divisive legislation. A more informed view would conclude that the mass of Kenyan Muslims is just as horrified at Al-Qaeda’s barbarities as everyone else. To lay them open to abuse and summary treatment will sow great bitterness and set one part of the community against another. Worse, the fallout from this legislation could cause the Muslim community to close ranks for self-protection, thus robbing the forces of law and order of the eyes and ears they currently possess.
The good news is that legislators serving on Kenya’s Administration of Justice and Legal Affairs Committee have condemned the bill in no uncertain terms. The bad news is that the government appears determined to use its large parliamentary majority to push the bill through. Unless there is a rebellion among its supporters in the legislature, this may still become law.
Repressive legislation like this accomplishes part of the terrorist’s aims for him, by destabilizing society and sowing discord and distrust. A country like Kenya, feeling its way toward economic and social betterment, should not be obliged by Washington to adopt legislation which could endanger that progress.
