KEN 002 / 1116 / OBS 094

Obstaclesto freedom of assembly /

Excessiveuse of violence /

Arbitraryarrest / Release

Kenya

November 10, 2016

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, apartnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requestsyour urgent intervention in the following situation in Kenya.

Description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by the Kenya Human Rights Commission(KHRC) about the violent repression against an anti-corruption[1]demonstration the KHRC co-organised with PAWA 254, the Inter-Religious Council,Transparency International Kenya, Civil Society Reference Group, Sauti yaWanjiku, Katiba Institute among other partners in Kenya.

According to the information received, onNovember 3, 2016, around 500 people peacefully gathered in Nairobi’s UhuruPark, at the Freedom Corner, to protest against the increasing number ofcorruption scandals and the admission by the President Uhuru Kenyatta of hisinability to resolve them. The crowd intended to reach the Presidential Palaceand give a petition[2]to the President when the police violently dispersed the demonstration, throughfiring tear gas and water canons. Moreover, some police officers were alsofilmed beating up unarmed protesters and journalists.

At least 10 activists and journalists havebeen injured, and 24 peaceful protesters were arbitrarily arrested, brieflyheld at the Central and Parliament police stations and released a few hours laterwithout charges.

The Observatory would like to recall thatthis is not an isolated case, but more a pattern of excessive use of force by the police against defenders, lawyers andactivists during peaceful demonstrations, used as a mean of repression againsttheir freedom of expression, association and assembly. This trend is perceived by the populationto be increasing, especially in view of the upcoming August 2017 elections, asseveral defenders told to the Observatory delegates during the internationalfact-finding mission conducted from October 24 to 28, 2016[3].

Similar episodes of violent crowd control bythe police, including by use of lethal force, have happened earlier this yearduring May 23 and June 6 protests in the Nyanza region (Western Kenya) and ofJune 6 in Nairobi against cases of corruption within the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the national elections management body. This violentrepression provoked atleast five extrajudicial killings and 60 wounded among the peacefuldemonstrators.

The Observatory strongly condemns the violentrepressions of peaceful demonstrations by the police, which only aim atsanctioning the legitimate exercise of Kenyan citizens of their right tofreedom of assembly.

Moreover, the Observatory calls upon theKenyan authorities to promptly open investigation on police excessive use ofviolence as a means of crowd control, and to implement sustained police reformsas foreseen in the 2011 National PoliceService Act and the 2011 National Police Service Commission Act.

The Observatory recalls that the Kenyan authoritieshave the responsibility to ensure the protection of human rights in general andof the rights related to freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly andassociation in particular, as protected respectively under Articles 33, 36 and37 of the 2010 Constitution.

Actions requested:

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

i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical andpsychological integrity of all the defenders fighting against corruption andother governance issues, as well as all peaceful protesters and human rightsdefenders in Kenya;

ii. Ensure in all circumstances that all humanrights defenders in Kenya are able to carry out their legitimate human rightsactivities including the organisation of strikes and peaceful and unarmedassemblies without any hindrance or fear of violence;

iii. Request the Independent Policing OversightAuthority (IPOA); Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ) and Kenya NationalCommission on Human Rights (KNCHR) to jointly investigate the circumstancesunder which the police continue to violate the rights of peaceful protestersand hold the culprits to account.

iv. Call upon the National Police ServiceCommission to review the policestanding orders to reflect international standards on the use of force andpolicing of assemblies.

v. Comply with all the provisions of the UnitedNations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular with its Articles1 and 12,2;

vi. Ensure in all circumstances respect for humanrights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rightsstandards and international instruments ratified by Kenya.

Addresses:

· Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of theRepublic of Kenya, Fax: +254-020-2436, Email: president@statehousekenya.go.ke

· Hon. William Ruto, Deputy-President ofthe Republic of Kenya, Email: dp@deputypresident.go.ke

· Hon. Joseph Nkaissery, Interior &Coordination of National Government, Email: ps.interior@kenya.go.ke

· Inspector General of Police, Email:nps@nationalpolice.go.ke

· Macharia Njeru,Chairperson, Email: macharia.njeru@ipoa.go.ke

· Otiende Amollo,Chairperson, Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ), Email: otiendeamollo@yahoo.com; otiendeamollo@ombudsman.go.ke

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

· H.E. Mr. Stephen Ndungu Karau, PermanentMission of Kenya to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22731 29 05, E-mail: mission.kenya@ties.itu.int

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

Please also write tothe diplomatic representations of Kenya in your respective countries.

***

Paris-Geneva, November 10, 2016

Kindly inform us of any actionundertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory for the Protectionof Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDHand OMCT. The objective of this programme is to prevent or remedysituations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCTare both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European UnionHuman Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civilsociety.

[1] According to the TransparencyInternational’s corruption index, Kenya ranks 139 out of 168 countries, whichmeans that it is one of the countries with the highest public perception ofcorruption.

[2] The petition : http://www.khrc.or.ke/2015-03-04-10-37-01/press-releases/567-petition-to-his-excellency-the-president-uhuru-kenyatta-for-expedient-and-decisive-action-against-grand-corruption.html

[3] See the Observatory PressRelease of October 28, 2016 with the preliminary findings of the mission. ​