Kenya listed among countries notorious for violating human rights
By Judy Jerono
Amnesty International has listed Kenya among the most notorious countries for violating human rights.
The Amnesty International which is a global human rights watch group stated that police in the country uses excess excessive force to break up protests.
“Police used excessive and sometimes lethal force to break up protests, they unlawfully killed 167 people, including some of those arrested for violating Covid-19 restrictions and forcibly disappeared 33 people,” read the report.
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Kenyan police officers arrest a man during a past protest. |Photo| Courtesy|[/caption]
The Amnesty in its report released on Wednesday, March 30 dubbed ‘The State of the World’s Human Rights’, further stated that only 28 prosecutions were initiated out of the 167 killings which it says it is against the suspected perpetrators.
Amnesty international mentioned Kenya as a nation marred by police brutality, extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances.
The 2021/2022 report noted that “the year 2021 for Kenya was an incubator for greater inequality and instability instead of being a healing and recuperation year” adding that the police also infringed the rights of demonstrators who were complaining about the police brutality across the country.
“Alex Macharia Wanjiku was shot in Kahawa West, an informal settlement in Nairobi County, while police dispersed a demonstration against the Nairobi Metropolitan Services yet the investigations of the incident by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), were not completed by the end of the year” it further read
The increase in cases of gender-based violence mainly against women and girls as well as government evictions during the pandemic was among the accusations from the report.
The issue of media being denied the right to freedom of expression was also noted in the Amnesty International statement.
The arrest of the Human rights activist Edwin Mutemi wa Kiama which occurred on April 6, 2021 for raising governance issues on social media was also reported. Kiama was arrested for criticizing government where he was later released on a bail of Ksh500,000.
It also reported that “67-year-old Joannah Stutchbury, a well-known environmental activist, was shot dead at her home in Kiambu County on the outskirts of the capital, Nairobi. She had received death threats apparently linked to campaigns against the construction of buildings in the Kiambu Forest.” So far no one has been arrested on the same.
Kenyan police officers arrest a man during a past protest. |Photo| Courtesy|[/caption]
The Amnesty in its report released on Wednesday, March 30 dubbed ‘The State of the World’s Human Rights’, further stated that only 28 prosecutions were initiated out of the 167 killings which it says it is against the suspected perpetrators.
Amnesty international mentioned Kenya as a nation marred by police brutality, extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances.
The 2021/2022 report noted that “the year 2021 for Kenya was an incubator for greater inequality and instability instead of being a healing and recuperation year” adding that the police also infringed the rights of demonstrators who were complaining about the police brutality across the country.
“Alex Macharia Wanjiku was shot in Kahawa West, an informal settlement in Nairobi County, while police dispersed a demonstration against the Nairobi Metropolitan Services yet the investigations of the incident by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), were not completed by the end of the year” it further read
The increase in cases of gender-based violence mainly against women and girls as well as government evictions during the pandemic was among the accusations from the report.
The issue of media being denied the right to freedom of expression was also noted in the Amnesty International statement.
The arrest of the Human rights activist Edwin Mutemi wa Kiama which occurred on April 6, 2021 for raising governance issues on social media was also reported. Kiama was arrested for criticizing government where he was later released on a bail of Ksh500,000.
It also reported that “67-year-old Joannah Stutchbury, a well-known environmental activist, was shot dead at her home in Kiambu County on the outskirts of the capital, Nairobi. She had received death threats apparently linked to campaigns against the construction of buildings in the Kiambu Forest.” So far no one has been arrested on the same. What's Your Reaction?
