The High Court has ordered Inspector General of Police to ensure police officers do not use plain clothes, hide their faces with masks when dealing with protesters.

During a court ruling at the Milimani Law Courts, in Nairobi on Wednesday August 14, 2024, High Court Judge Bahati Mwamuye directed the Police IG to further ensure that his officers do not obscure the identification or registration of any vehicle being used when dealing with protesters during demonstrations.

This was after the Law Society of Kenya filed a case in court.

LSK through its lawyer, Dudley Ochiel, told the court that deployment of plain-clothed officers were interfering with the Kenyans right to demonstrate.

“These unidentified officers cannot be held accountable for their actions. As a result, they end up using excessive force. 

“They cannot be held accountable because they are unknown,” said Ochiel.

He explained that the court should intervene to ensure only police officers in uniforms should be deployed to handle protesters. 

At the same time, the Judge also ordered the IG to ensure full compliance with paragraph 10 of the sixth schedule of the National Police Service Act in terms of ensuring that all uniformed officers shall at all times affix a name tag or an identifiable service number.

The Judge further ordered that police should at all times affix name tags or an identifiable service number in a clearly visible part of their uniform.

Also sued in the case are police officers, and the Attorney General. 

The case comes at a time when cases of abductions and use of excess force  were reported during anti-government protests, allegedly by masked police officers in plain clothes.