Human Rights Watch wants US Secretary of State John Kerry to press President Uhuru Kenyatta to publicly acknowledge ‘widespread’ human rights abuses.
Kerry arrived yesterday and will hold talks on security, counter-terrorism, elections and anti-corruption efforts. The international lobby group wants Uhuru to publicly commit to end extrajudicial killings, hostility against media and the civil society.
The group in a letter called on Kerry to use today’s visit in Nairobi to press for equal rights and rule of law.
“During your visit in May 2015, you called attention to the fact that President Kenyatta reinforced his agreement with us that human rights and the rule of law have to be respected in the counterterrorism efforts. While there have been some efforts to move in this direction, they have been mostly cosmetic,” HRW Washington director Sarah Margon said in a letter to Kerry dated August 19.
She said they have continued to document serious abuses in counterterrorism operations in Kenya, including enforced disappearances and torture.
“Over an eight-month period, we documented at least 34 cases of extrajudicial killings and another 11 deaths of people last seen in state custody over alleged links or knowledge of al Shabab in Nairobi and the northeastern part of the country,” the letter says.
It says their research showed multiple security agencies play a significant role in these arrests and enforced disappearances.
They include the Kenya Defence Forces, especially the Directorate of Military Intelligence, units of the Kenya Police, including the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit and the Administration Police, National Intelligence Service, and Kenya Wildlife Service rangers.
Local human rights organisations have also documented widespread cases of extrajudicial killings.