Muslim leaders ask govt to allow Tuesday's protests to proceed peacefully

Four National Muslim leaders have urged the government to allow the protests planned for Tuesday to proceed without interference.

They also want the Kenya Kwanza administration to listen to the demands being voiced by Kenyans, especially the Gen Zs.

In a statement by the Chairman of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims, Al Haji Ole Naado, Chairman of the National Muslim Leaders Forum, Mr Abdullahi Abdi, Vice Chairman of the Jamia Mosque Committee, Mr Abdullatif Essajee, and Sheikh Abdalla Ateka, Chairman of Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya, the leaders further urged the government to prosecute those behind blatant police brutality and corruption in the country as a matter of priority.

"This will give faith to Kenyans that the government is not involved in cosmetic approaches but is sincere in listening to the grievances of its citizens," they said in a joint statement that also called on the protesters to observe decorum and peace.

At the same time, the leaders told the police that lobbying with tear gas and shooting at the protesters will "only serve to inflame tensions and could lead to calamities" and hence should be avoided at all costs.

"Gen Zs have called for another protest tomorrow, Tuesday, and it is our call to the police to allow the protesters to exercise their constitutional rights. They should be accorded protection, which will ensure that the protests go on peacefully and in addition, the police should be on guard to see to it that no wrong elements infiltrate the demonstration," the leaders said in the statement.

SUPKEM chair Hassan Ole Nado addresses congregants at a past event. (Photo: Handout)

The leaders further expressed concerns about the events happening in the country including the ongoing clampdown on protests, extra-judicial killings, abductions and the bodies dumped in Kware in Mukuru Kwa Njenga slums.

They at the same time called the police to expedite the probe into the killings and for the government to leave no stone unturned in efforts to find and punish the perpetrators of these acts.

On reports of killings and abductions after the Gen Z protests, the leaders said that President William Ruto's assurance to bring an end to extrajudicial killings has proven to be "far from the truth".

"For Muslims who have suffered years of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, this is a matter of grave concern. We strongly condemn these affront to civil liberties and call on the government to come out and dismantle the police squads involved in abducting Kenyans. They need to be arrested, exposed and arraigned in courts of law," the leaders added.