Police opts for penal code as POM is quashed
The Constitutional Court nullified sections 5(b), 10 (3) and 4 of the Public Order Management (POM) Act, after they were established to be inconsistent with Article 29 of the 1995 Constitution.
However, police says although these sections were nullified, there are other existing laws under the Penal Code Act, that do regulate unlawful Assemblies, riots and other offences against public tranquility.
In addition, section 5 of the Public Order Management Act, which, basically provides for organisers of a public meeting to notify police, 3 days before the date of the meeting is to convene, is still in existence.
Police now says that all organsiers of assemblies and processions, should know that although its their fundamental right to peacefully assemble, they should also have a duty to inform the police about the date and time of their public meetings, details of the organisers, location and consent of the venue owner, the number of persons expected, purpose and any other basic information, justified to ensure the smooth conduct of the public meeting.
That organisers also have a duty to adhere to the criterial of holding public meetings ie have a traffic assembly plan, provide sufficient stewards proportionate to the number of participants in the public meeting with clearly name tags, coordinate and cooperate with the police to maintain peace and order. For instance Section 65 of the Penal Code Act (PCA) gives the definition of an unlawful assembly and riot.
When three or more persons assemble with intent to carry out some common purpose, conduct themselves in such a manner as to cause persons in the neighborhood reasonably to fear that the persons so assembled, will commit a breach of the peace or will by such assembly needlessly and without any reasonable occasion provide other persons to commit a breach of their peace, they are an unlawful assembly. The punishment for unlawful assembly is a misdemeanor and liable for imprisonment for one year.
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