Court decision to unfreeze the bank accounts of Haki Africa and Muslims for Human Rights

URGENT APPEAL - THEOBSERVATORY

New information

KEN 001 / 0415 / OBS 034.2

Harassment /

Obstacles to freedom of association

Kenya

November 13, 2015

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a jointprogramme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) andthe World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received newinformation and requests your urgent intervention in the followingsituation in Kenya.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about a courtdecision to unfreeze the bank accounts of Haki Africa and Muslimsfor Human Rights (MUHURI), two local human rights organisationswhich advocate for the respect of human rights and the constitution in thefight against terrorism.

According to the information received, on November 12, 2015, Judge AnyaraEmukhule from the Mombasa High Court ordered that the bankaccounts of Haki Africa and MUHURI be unfrozen, on the grounds thatthis freezing was unconstitutional and violated the rights of the twoorganisations. Judge Emukhule also ordered the nullification ofthe gazette notice linking MUHURI and Haki Africa to terror activities(see background information).

The State has announced that it will appeal against the ruling.

The Observatory welcomes the decision to unfreeze the bank accounts ofHaki Africa and MUHURI, but remains concerned about theadministrative and judicial harassment faced by the above-mentionedorganisations and against other non-governmental organisations in Kenya,which seems to merely aim at preventing them from carrying out theirlegitimate human rights work. More generally, the Observatory reiteratesits concerns regarding the shrinking space imposed by the Governmentto the civil society in Kenya.

Background information:

On April 7, 2015, the Inspector General issued a list entitled “List ofTerrorist Organisations”, containing five organisations. These areAl-Shabaab, Mombasa Republican Council, Al-Qaida, ISIS (Islamic Stateof Iraq and Syria) and Boko Haram.

The same Gazette notice contained a longer list titled, “List of EntitiesSuspected to be Associated with Al-Shabaab”. This list has 85 entitieswhich appear to be companies, business organisations and individuals.MUHURI and Haki Africa have been listed here.

Following the publication of this list, the bank accounts of MUHURI andHaki Africa have been frozen. Haki Africa’s medical insurance cover forits staff has also been suspended.

On April 20, 2015, at approximately 2 p.m., officers of the Kenyan RevenueAuthorities (KRA) raided the premises of Haki Africa in Mombasa andseized computers, hard disks, documents and financial files. Theofficers, who presented a court order and were accompanied by at leastfour policemen, declared to be investigating on allegations of taxevasion. The following weekend, at least one police car wasspotted outside the office of Haki Africa, allegedly taking picturesof the premises.

The same facts happened on April 21, 2015, at approximately 11 a.m., in thepremises of MUHURI, where officers of the KRA presented awarrant mentioning criminal investigation on possible tax evasion. Inaddition to seizing documents, they also dismantled the office server.

On May 27, 2015, the Kenyan NGO Coordination Board reportedly issued adecision to de-register Haki Africa and MUHURI and to canceltheir licences.

The two NGOs, which were informed of the decision through the media,subsequently wrote to the NGO Coordination Board to request informationon the motivations of the decision taken by the Board.

In a letter dated May 28, 2015, the NGO Coordination Board justified thedecision with a change in the composition of MUHURI’s boardmembers without notification to the NGO Coordination Board, as wellas with allegations of tax evasion and of employment of foreign personnel.In its letter, the NGO Coordination Board urged MUHURI “within 14days [to] show cause why legal action should not be taken against [theNGO]”.

Previously, on April 30, 2015, in a letter addressed to Haki Africa, theNGO Coordination Board accused the organisation of operating withoutvalid registration, in violation of Section 22 of the NGO Act. Theletter further accused the organisation of operating through unregisteredbank accounts. In response, HAKI Africa explained its legal status asa project of HAKI Centre, which was duly registered by the NGOCoordination Board in 2012.

On June 11, 2015, the Mombasa High Court ordered that the Kenyan Stateremove both organisations from the list of terrorist organisations underthe Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Kenya, urging them to:

i.Put an end to any kind of harassment – including at the judicial level –against Haki Africa, MUHURI, and their members, as well as against allhuman rights defenders in Kenya, so that they are able to carry outtheir work without any hindrances;

ii. Remove immediately and unconditionally Haki Africa and MUHURIfrom the list of terrorist entities, and implement immediately the courtdecision to unfreeze their bank accounts;

iii. Lift immediately and unconditionally the restrictions on medicalinsurance as well as any other restriction on the activities of theseorganisations;

iv. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychologicalsecurity and integrity of the members of Haki Africa and MUHURI, as wellas of all human rights defenders in Kenya;

v. Comply with all the provisions of the United Nations Declarationon Human Rights Defenders, in particular with its Article 1, whichprovides that “everyone has the right, individually andin association with others, to promote and to strive for the protectionand realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at thenational and international levels”, as well as with Article 12.2 (“theState shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection bythe competent authorities of everyone, individually and in associationwith others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, defacto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or anyother arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exerciseof the rights referred to in the present Declaration”);

vi. Acknowledge the important roleplayed by civil society in promoting tolerance in the struggle againstviolent extremism and ensure an enabling environment in which human rightsdefenders and civil society can operate free from hindrance andinsecurity;

vii. More generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect forhuman rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights and with international and regional humanrights instruments ratified by Kenya.

Addresses:

· Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya, StateHouse, Statehouse Road, P.O Box: 40530 00100, Nairobi, Kenya., Fax:+254-020-2436, Email: president@statehousekenya.go.ke
· Hon. William Ruto, Deputy-President of the Republic of Kenya,Office of The Deputy President, Harambee Avenue, P.O. Box 74434 - 00200Nairobi, Kenya., Tel: +254 20 3247000/1/2/3/4/5, Email: dp@deputypresident.go.ke
· Hon. Joseph Nkaissery, Interior & Coordination of NationalGovernment, Harambee House, Harambee Avenue, P.O Box 30510,00100 Nairobi,Tel: +254-20-2227411, Email: ps.interior@kenya.go.ke
·Commissioner of Police, Kenya Police Headquarters, 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 NationalCommission on Human Rights, Fax: +254-020- 2716160 E-mail haki@knchr.org
· H.E. Mr. Stephen Ndungu Karau, Permanent Mission of Kenya to theUnited Nations in Geneva, Av. de la Paix 1-3, 1202 Genève, Switzerland,Fax: +41 22 731 29 05, E-mail: mission.kenya@ties.itu.int
· H.E. Johnson Weru, Embassy of Kenya in Brussels, 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 representations of Kenya in yourrespective countries.

***

Paris-Geneva, November 13, 2015

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appealin your reply.

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protectionof Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support intheir time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 HumanRights Prize of the French Republic.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
·E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
·Tel and fax FIDH + 33 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
·Tel and fax OMCT + 41 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29