Law Society of Kenya v Attorney General & another [2021] eKLR infringement of a right or freedom guaranteed by the Charter; this is the reason why resort to s. 1 is necessary. The inquiry into effects must, however, go further. A wide range of rights and freedoms are guaranteed by the Charter, and an almost infinite number of factual situations may arise in respect of these. Some limits on rights and freedoms protected by the Charter will be more serious than others in terms of the nature of the right or freedom violated, the extent of the violation, and the degree to which the measures which impose the limit trench upon the integral principles of a free and democratic society. Even if an objective is of sufficient importance, and the first two elements of the proportionality test are satisfied, it is still possible that, because of the severity of the deleterious effects of a measure on individuals or groups, the measure will not be justified by the purposes it is intended to serve. The more severe the deleterious effects of a measure, the more important the objective must be if the measure is to be reasonable and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. 109. I will now juxtapose the provisions of Article 24 of the Constitution and the criteria in R v. Oakes with the provisions in Section 5 of the Order Act. To enable me do so with ease, I will reproduce Section 5 of the Order Act as under: “PART III – PUBLIC GATHERINGS 5. Regulation of Public meeting and Processions (1) No person shall hold a public meeting or a public procession except in accordance with the provisions of this section. (2) Any person intending to convene a public meeting or a public procession shall notify the regulating officer of such intent at least three days but not more than fourteen days before the proposed date of the public meeting or procession. (3) A notice under subsection (2) shall be in the prescribed form and shall specify— (a) the full names and physical address of the organiser of the proposed public meeting or public procession; (b) the proposed date of the meeting or procession and the time thereof which shall be between six o’clock in the morning and six o’clock in the afternoon; (c) the proposed site of the public meeting or the proposed route in the case of a public procession. (4) Where, upon receipt of a notice under subsection (2), it is not possible to hold the proposed public meeting or public procession for the reason that notice of another public meeting or procession on the date, at the time and at the venue proposed has already been received by the regulating officer, the regulating officer shall forthwith notify the organiser. (5) The notification by the regulating officer under subsection (4) shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the organiser at the physical address specified pursuant to the provision of subsection (3). (6) Where the regulating officer notifies the organiser of a public meeting or public procession in accordance with subsection (3) that it is not possible to hold the proposed meeting or procession, such public meeting or procession shall not be held on the date, at the time and venue proposed, but may, subject to this section, be held on such future date as the organiser may subsequently notify. (7) The organiser of every public meeting or public procession or his authorised agent shall be present throughout the meeting or procession and shall assist the police in the maintenance of peace and order at the meeting or procession. (8) The regulating officer or any police officer of or above the rank of inspector may stop or prevent the holding of— (a) any public meeting or public procession held contrary to the provisions of subsections (2) or (6); (b) any public gathering or other meeting or procession which, having regard to the rights and interests of the persons participating in such gathering, meeting or procession, there is clear, present or imminent danger of a breach of the peace or public order, and may, for any of the purposes aforesaid, give or issue such orders, including orders for the dispersal of the meeting, procession or gathering as are reasonable in the circumstances, having regard to the rights and freedoms of the persons in respect of whom such orders are issued and the rights and freedoms of others. http://www.kenyalaw.org - Page 29/34