Kenya: enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings must stop now

Nairobi-Geneva, 28 June 2024 — The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the Independent Medico-legal Unit (IMLU) follow with close attention to the worrying situation in Kenya where protests against controversial finance bill have turned into mass killings and several gross human rights violations, including internet shutdown, torture, arbitrary arrests among others.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and the Police Reforms Working Group (PRWG-K), where some members of the SOS-Torture network sit, have documented 23 deaths, 34 forcedly disappeared, and 164 arrests, including those further released and close to 67 people with injuries since 18 June. The killings have been exacerbated by an illegal deployment of the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF).

This amounts to apparent breaches of international human rights treaties Kenya has ratified, especially the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Conventions against Torture and enforced disappearances. The authorities are responsible for upholding these fundamental rights in any circumstances without any restrictions. In 2022, the United Nations Committee against Torture had already called the Kenyan authorities to take all appropriate measures to put an end to this state culture of police brutality in the context of Pacific protest.

Enforced disappearances and excessive use of force, including lethal force, by shooting, during arrests or the policing of demonstrations by law enforcement officers in informal urban settlements have long been documented in the country. 2017, the government enacted the Prevention of Torture Act and the National Coroners Service Act. Still, it never operationalized them, leading to rampant impunity of perpetrators of torture and extrajudicial killings with no policemen prosecuted in 10 years. Unfortunately, since then, cases of torture have increased by 296% over the previous three years.

While the Kenyan president has refused to assent to the 2024 finance bill and sent it back to parliament, we call on him to protect Kenyans' rights to protest and their freedom of assembly. Law enforcement officers and military personnel should immediately put an end to extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and the excessive use of force. Kenyan judges should grant the right to habeas corpus to all protestors arbitrarily arrested.

The Independent Policing Oversite Authority and the Kenya National Human Rights Commission conduct exhaustive investigations of Torture perpetuated on the protestors and institute requisite public inquest for all persons shot dead. This should lead to prompt, impartial and effective investigations to ensure that the alleged perpetrators are prosecuted and the victims adequately compensated.

A thorough and exhaustive inquiry on the procedures deployed in crowd controls and the provision of security in public protest should be urgently undertaken to set acceptable human rights standards within the national police standing orders. Finally, the Prevention of Torture Act and the National Coroner's Act should be immediately operationalized.

For more information, please contact:
Francesca Pezzola, Director of Communications at OMCT, at fpe@omct.org