Former Nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba has taken aim at Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris for sponsoring a bill seeking to bar protesters from accessing key public installations.

In a video posted on her TikTok account, Orwoba accused Passaris of fronting a “retrogressive” piece of legislation aimed at curbing the right to demonstrate.“Passaris, how do you agree to sponsor such a bill? You are spitting on the faces of Kenyans because demonstrators went out peacefully," Orwoba said.

"The issue that should have been of concern is about the goons that are always infiltrating the peaceful protests which has nothing to do with the issues of the demonstrators but has everything to do with the lapse in the security system.”

She urged Passaris to instead push for reforms in regulatory committees within the National Assembly to address police excesses during protests.

Passaris’ bill seeks to establish official “assembly and demonstration zones” where protests can be legally held.

It proposes penalties of up to Sh100,000, a three-month jail term, or both for those who flout the designated zones.

The bill also gives the Interior Cabinet Secretary, working with county governments, powers to identify and gazette protest areas in urban centres and other protected zones.

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Defending her proposal before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security, Passaris said: “The constitution gives the right to demonstrate, picket and assemble, but that right has been turned into rights of destruction, hence the need to relook and align it.”

The bill is currently under debate in Parliament.

If passed, it will be implemented nationwide—particularly in cities and towns hosting key government institutions such as Parliament, State House, and the courts.

The Interior Ministry will oversee its enforcement in collaboration with county governments.