Arbitrary detention and judicial harassment of ten land rights defenders from Taina Tevada County

Description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about thearbitrary detention and judicial harassment of ten land rights defenders, atthe Taveta GK prison since November 1, 2016.

According to the information received, on October 31, 2016, eightmembers of the network organisation Building Africa[1],namely Messrs. Charles Mwanzia, Ramadhan Mathenge Kamosu, Justus Munyao, Fabian Ngure, JuliusKimondio, Frank Mbomani, Ambrose Hemed, Msafiri Mkillo, as well as twowitnessesto a beneficiary oftheorganisation’s services, Messrs. Julius Masuma and PeterKithome, were arrested while attending a public meeting about land grabbing andcorruption in the city of Taveta, in Taita Taveta County of Kenya. They werecharged by the Taveta Court the day after with “participation in an unlawfulassembly”, in breach of Section 79 of the Penal Code. They immediatelychallenged this accusation, claiming that they had not committed any crime.

The Observatory fears that the judicial harassment of the ten defendersis linked to their legitimate human rights activities against the Phase 1 and 2of the Taita Taveta Settlement Project, and their several denounces ofcorruption and irregular distribution of land in the territory.

The ten defenders remain in custody since their arrest, being unable topay the bond fixed by the authorities for each of them to KES 300,000 (approx.2,770 euros). This punitive use of the bail and bond system, which very oftendisproportionately affects human rights defenders and activists granting higherbails compared to criminals accused of more serious offences, has been alreadydenounced by the Observatory among the preliminary findings of its mission toKenya[2],as it only aims at deterring defenders from conducting their legitimate humanrights activities. The defendants, helped by the Kenyan National Coalition forHuman Rights Defenders (NCHRD-K) filed an application to the High Court askingfor the review of the excessive bond imposed on them, since its purpose shouldnot be to ensure the inability of the defendant to pay it, but it should ratherbe an incentive to return to court. The hearing will take place on November 23,2016.

The Observatory would like to recall that harassment of land rightsdefenders has unfortunately been a pattern in the country for the last fewyears, both in rural areas, especially considering extractive industries andsalt companies, and in urban settlements, regarding land grabbing by theGovernment.

TheObservatory urges the Kenyan authorities to immediately and unconditionallyrelease and put an end to all acts of harassment, including at judicial level,against the ten land rights defenders arbitrarily arrested and detained.

The Observatory recalls that theKenyan authorities have the responsibility to ensure the protection of humanrights in general and of the rights related to freedoms of expression, peacefulassembly and association in particular, as protected respectively underArticles 33, 36 and 37 of the 2010 Constitution.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Kenya asking themto:

i. Immediately and unconditionally release MessrsCharles Mwanzia, Ramadhan Mathenge Kamosu, Justus Munyao, Fabian Ngure, JuliusKimondio, Frank Mbomani, Ambrose Hemed, Msafiri Mkillo, Julius Masuma and PeterKithome, since their detention is arbitrary and it only aims at sanctioningtheir legitimate human rights activities;

ii. Put an end against all acts of harassment –including at judicial level - against the ten above mentioned land rightsdefenders and the organisation Building Kenya, as well as against all humanrights organisations and defenders in Kenya;

iii. Ensure in all circumstances that all human rights defenders inKenya are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities includingthe participation and the organisation of peaceful meetings and assemblieswithout any hindrance or fear of violence;

iii. Comply with all the provisions of theUnited Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular with itsArticle 1 5(b) and 12.2;

iv. Ensure in all circumstances respectfor human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with internationalhuman rights standards and international instruments ratified by Kenya.

Addresses:

· Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, President ofthe Republic of Kenya, State House, Statehouse Road, P.O Box: 40530 00100,Nairobi, Kenya., Fax: +254-020-2436, Email: president@statehousekenya.go.ke

· Hon. William Ruto, Deputy-Presidentof the Republic of Kenya, Office of The Deputy President, Harambee Avenue,P.O. Box 74434 - 00200 Nairobi, Kenya., Tel: +254 203247000/1/2/3/4/5, Email: dp@deputypresident.go.ke

· Hon. Joseph Nkaissery, Interior& Coordination of National Government, Harambee House, HarambeeAvenue, P.O Box 30510,00100 Nairobi, Tel: +254-20-2227411, Email: ps.interior@kenya.go.ke

· Commissioner of Police, Kenya PoliceHeadquarters, Vigilance House, Harambee Avenue, P.O. Box 30083, Nairobi,Kenya, Tel: +254-020-341411/6/8, Email: commissioner@police.go.ke, complaints@police.go.ke

· Commissioner Kagwiria Mbogori,Chairperson, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, Fax: +254-020-2716160 E-mail haki@knchr.org

· H.E. Mr. Stephen Ndungu Karau,Permanent Mission of Kenya to the United Nations in Geneva, Av. de la Paix1-3, 1202 Genève, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 731 29 05, E-mail: mission.kenya@ties.itu.int

· H.E. Johnson Weru, Embassy of Kenya inBrussels, 208 av. W. Churchill, 1180 Uccle, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 340 10 50/ + 32 2 340 10 68. Email: kenbrussels@hotmail.com

Please also write to the diplomatic missions or embassies of Kenya inyour respective country.

[1] Building Africa is an umbrellaorganization with a network of member organisations, aimed at building Africaand especially Taita-Taveta County through implementation of SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs) through Human Right Based Approach to achieve amongothers food security, industrialization and poverty reduction while seriouslyobserving environmental protection and conservation.

[2] See the Observatory Press Release of October 28,2016.