Kenya

Kenya: New Laws Would Undermine Basic Rights

Published by on November 12, 2013

12 November 2013 Human Rights Watch Kenya’s leaders and lawmakers should reject proposed laws regulating the media and nongovernmental activity that would severely undermine fundamental rights and freedoms. The Information and Communications Amendment Bill of 2013 was passed by parliament on October 31, 2013, but has not yet been signed by the president. Another problematic draft law, the Media Council Bill, is due to be debated in parliament in the coming weeks. On October 30 the attorney general also proposed controversial new provisions regulating the work of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), including a proposed cap at 15 percent of foreign funding. Read the full article…

Kenya: Rights Defenders Under Attack

Published by on October 4, 2013

Human Rights Watch 4 October, 2013 Attacks and threats against human rights defenders are on the rise in Kenya, Human Rights Watch said today. Harassment of people perceived to support the International Criminal Court (ICC) cases against President Uhuru Kenyatta, Deputy President William Ruto, and the journalist Joshua arap Sang has been particularly acute. The three face charges of crimes against humanity for their alleged roles in Kenya’s 2007-2008 post-election violence. Kenyan authorities should immediately condemn this trend, Human Rights Watch said. The authorities should investigate and prosecute threats, intimidation, and killings of human rights defenders. “The increasing threats and intimidation of Read the full article…

Making love a crime: Criminalization of same-sex conduct in Sub-Saharan Africa

Published by on June 25, 2013

Amnesty International 25 June 2013 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report provides an analysis of the legal environment and wider context of human rights violations against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals in sub-Saharan Africa. Recent years have seen increasing reports of people being harassed, marginalized, discriminated against and attacked because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. This is occurring in countries whose legal systems still condone the criminalization of consensual same-sex behaviour, and in countries where the police and justice systems are failing to prevent these crimes from happening. The continued criminalization of consensual same-sex Read the full article…

Kenya: Amnesty International Annual Report 2013

Published by on May 23, 2013

Amnesty International 23 May 2013 Freedom of assembly and expression were attacked. Impunity persisted for both past and current human rights violations, including unlawful killings. Somali refugees and asylum-seekers were targets of xenophobic violence, and faced arbitrary arrest by the police. There were a number of grenade and bomb attacks in border towns in North-Eastern Province and in Nairobi. Read the full report here.

Kenya: Country of Origin Information Report

Published by on May 22, 2013

UK Home Office 22 May 2013 The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 22 April 2013. ‘The most serious human rights problems were abuses by the security forces, including unlawful killings, forced disappearances, torture, rape, and use of excessive force; interethnic violence; and widespread corruption and impunity throughout the government. ‘Other human rights problems included police corruption; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; prolonged pretrial detention; some judicial corruption; arbitrary interference with the home and infringement on citizens’ privacy; restrictions on freedom of speech, press, and Read the full article…

Kenya: Freedom in the World 2013

Published by on May 20, 2013

Freedom House 20 May 2013 In 2012, leading politicians jockeyed for position in the run-up to general elections set for March 2013, the first polls since a disputed ballot in 2007 resulted in deadly ethnic and political violence. However, the International Criminal Court’s indictment of prominent Kenyans, including a top candidate for president, overshadowed the elections, with the trial scheduled to begin in the spring of 2013. Throughout 2012, ethnic and religious tensions and violence increased, exacerbated by factors including the upcoming elections, abuses by the security forces, and Kenya’s military involvement in fighting the Islamist group Al-Shabaab in Somalia. Read the full article…

Kenya: 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Published by on April 19, 2013

US Department of State 19 April 2013 Kenya is a republic with an institutionally strong president and a prime minister with unclearly defined executive powers. There is a unicameral national assembly. In 2010 citizens approved a new constitution in a national referendum, widely considered to be free and fair. The new constitution includes significant institutional and structural changes to the government, including the transition to a bicameral legislature, the abolition of the post of prime minister, and the devolution of fiscal and administrative authority from the central government to 47 newly created county governments. The new constitution stipulates the creation Read the full article…

Kenya : Human Rights Watch annual report

Published by on January 31, 2013

31 January 2013 Human Rights Watch Kenya continues to face serious challenges with implementing its new constitution and police reforms, as well as ending impunity for serious crimes by public officials and security forces. Kenya will hold general elections in March 2013, the first polls under the 2010 constitution. Four Kenyans, including three senior public officials—two of whom are running for the presidency in 2013—are facing charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC). This followed the post-election violence of 2007, which left 1300 people dead. There are concerns of further election-related violence around the 2013 elections. Read the full article…

Kenya: A Deadly Mix of Frustration, Politics and Impunity

Published by on September 14, 2012

IRIN, 14 September 2012 Recent deadly clashes in Kenya stem from widespread economic frustration, chronic impunity and the ambitions of politicians seeking office, according to analysts and activists. As the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay noted, the timing of the latest clashes on the coast is alarming. “In Kenya, the recent inter-communal violence in the Tana River District, during which dozens were killed, including a large number of children and women, is a grim reminder of the 2007-08 events,” she said earlier this week, referring to the killings and displacement that followed the country’s last presidential poll. “I call on Read the full article…

Kenya : Criminal reprisals

Published by on May 4, 2012

4 May 2012 Human Rights Watch Report This report provides detailed documentation of human rights abuses by the Kenya Defence Forces and the Kenyan police in apparent response to a series of grenade and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks that targeted both the security forces and civilians in North Eastern province. Rather than conducting investigations to identify and apprehend the perpetrators, both the police and army responded with violent reprisals against Kenyan citizens and Somali refugees. See full report