This is so because the right to access to information enshrined under Article 41, the right to freedom of conscience, expression, speech, thought, press and media enshrined under Article 29 are not absolute. They are all subject to the limitations set out in Article 43 of the Constitution. The question before us does not seek to answer whether, or not the petitioners' rights were limited, restricted or abridged 10 beyond what is demonstrably acceptable in a free and democratic society and if so to what extent. Had the petitioner sought an answer to the above question, then perhaps this Court would have proceeded to answer it. However, it is self evident that in this time and age of the electronic communication revolution, everyone in one way or the other 15 would be adversely effected by its shut down. It is a question too obvious for this Court to answer. Even if the internet had been shut down for a day, it would still have had serious consequences on some individuals and perhaps none or very limited on others. The question therefore is one of the fact. It is whether the shutting down of the 20 internet, to the extent that it was, for the period that it was and for the reasons that it was, went beyond what is demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society. This is not the question before us. I will therefore not attempt to answer it. Attempting to do so would be an exercise in futility as the petitioner having failed to frame a correct question could not have provided sufficient supporting facts. The 25 petition would have entailed a comparative study detailing the circumstances under which the internet may be shut down in free and democratic societies. This is an objective test set out in Article 43 (2] (c) of the Constitution. This petition however, is entirely, premised on a subjective view of the petitioner. I am well aware of the constitutional principle that the burden of justifying the derogation of a right falls on 30 the respondent. See: Onyango Obbo and Another vs Attorney General (Supra]. 2 | Page