{"id":144141,"date":"2025-06-24T18:49:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T18:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/speaker-wetangula-assures-acting-us-ambassador-mark-dillard-of-safety-for-protesters"},"modified":"2025-06-24T18:49:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T18:49:00","slug":"speaker-wetangula-assures-acting-us-ambassador-mark-dillard-of-safety-for-protesters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/speaker-wetangula-assures-acting-us-ambassador-mark-dillard-of-safety-for-protesters","title":{"rendered":"Speaker Wetangula Assures Acting US Ambassador Mark Dillard of Safety for Protesters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Kenya. <\/strong><\/span>National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang\u2019ula has moved to assure the international community that Kenya remains committed to upholding the rights of its citizens ahead of the anti-government protests slated for tomorrow in remembrance of the youth who lost their lives last year.<\/p>\n<p>Wetang\u2019ula made the remarks during a courtesy call with outgoing Acting US Ambassador Mark Dillard, who raised concerns about the country\u2019s preparedness and the role of Parliament in handling the unfolding situation.<\/p>\n<p>The speaker expressed hope that the protests would remain peaceful and reaffirmed the House\u2019s willingness to address the concerns raised by demonstrators.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis talk of a memorial for the last disturbances\u2014if they are peaceful demonstrations, it shouldn\u2019t be an issue, on the issues they have raised, Parliament is ready to address them, if it degenerates into violence, it is out of my hands and other agencies will handle that, but I hope it will be okay,\u201d said Wetang\u2019ula.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe exchanged views on recent developments in the country, particularly the ongoing public demonstrations related to the Finance Bill. I assured him that the Parliament of Kenya remains committed to constitutionalism, the rule of law, and the safeguarding of democratic freedoms,\u201d Wetang\u2019ula shared after the meeting.<\/p>\n<p>Wetang\u2019ula emphasised that Kenya\u2019s democracy had matured significantly and that institutions such as Parliament would continue to provide platforms for dialogue, expression, and representation of diverse views.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeaceful assembly is a right enshrined in our Constitution, and equally, the actions of law enforcement officers must be subject to legal and institutional oversight. Where excesses occur, accountability must follow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He further assured that Parliament was open to receiving petitions and engaging with stakeholders over the Finance Bill and other matters of national interest. \u201cAs a House that represents the people, we are always open to constructive engagement and deliberation on policies that affect the public,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<p>His remarks come after the United Kingdom, the United States, Britain, and Germany, among other foreign diplomats, issued a warning to their citizens over the planned demonstrations, citing potential risks.<\/p>\n<p>In the statement signed by 12 foreign envoys released on Tuesday, the diplomats endorsed the upcoming protests, which will be held in remembrance of protesters who lost their lives during the anti-Finance bill protests in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary, Koriri Sing&#8217;Oei, also responded to the envoys, noting that despite Kenya welcoming their stance on local developments, the government could not allow the weaponisation of the protests.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDemocratic protest must be protected, but any weaponisation of protests to achieve extra-constitutional objectives must be met with strong condemnation. Kenya\u2019s stability is paramount,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\">Kenya<\/a> Follow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/\">Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Kenya. National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang\u2019ula has moved to assure the international community that Kenya remains committed to upholding the rights of its citizens ahead of the anti-government protests slated for tomorrow in remembrance of the youth who lost their lives last year. Wetang\u2019ula made the remarks during a courtesy call with outgoing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":144140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[6857,7003,544],"class_list":["post-144141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-kenya","tag-kenya"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Speaker Wetangula Assures Acting US Ambassador Mark Dillard of Safety for Protesters - kenya<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/speaker-wetangula-assures-acting-us-ambassador-mark-dillard-of-safety-for-protesters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Speaker Wetangula Assures Acting US Ambassador Mark Dillard of Safety for Protesters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press &#8211; Kenya. National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang\u2019ula has moved to assure the international community that Kenya remains committed to upholding the rights of its citizens ahead of the anti-government protests slated for tomorrow in remembrance of the youth who lost their lives last year. 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