• Human Rights in Kenya

    In the March 4 presidential elections, Uhuru Kenyatta was declared winner in the first round with 6.1 million votes. The Supreme Court upheld the election results, following challenges by Raila Odinga, who was declared runner-up with 5.3 million votes, and others.

    Kenyatta, his running-mate William Ruto, and radio journalist, Joshua Sang, are facing charges at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. They were charged following the post-election violence of 2007-2008, which left about 1,300 people dead.

    Kenya faces serious challenges with implementing its new constitution and police reforms. Kenya’s military incursion into Somalia sparked retaliatory attacks, allegedly by supporters of the Somali Islamist group al-Shabaab. Kenya’s forces often responded by arbitrarily arresting and beating Somalis in Kenya’s refugee camps.

  • © 2012 Human Rights Watch
    Kenya: New Leaders Should Put Rights First
    Kenya’s new administration should take urgent steps in four key areas to address longstanding human rights challenges, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The administration should ensure that abusive security forces are held to account, protect independent voices, accelerate key police and land reforms, and cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
More news »

Featured Content

Subscribe to content feed

Reports

More >>

Kenya

  • Kenya: New Leaders Should Put Rights First
    Apr 23, 2013
    Kenya’s new administration should take urgent steps in four key areas to address longstanding human rights challenges, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The administration should ensure that abusive security forces are held to account, protect independent voices, accelerate key police and land reforms, and cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
  • Kenya: Human Rights Priorities for the New Administration
    Apr 23, 2013
    Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto were sworn into office as president and deputy president respectively on April 9, 2013, following the dismissal of court petitions challenging the results of the March 4, 2013 elections. The new leadership takes over at a time when the country is facing numerous human rights challenges that require urgent action. Long-standing grievances over land and other historical injustices, such as the failure to develop some regions, compounded by the lack of accountability for past crimes, continue to fuel violence across Kenya, including in the lead up to and following the 2013 elections.
  • Will Kenya's new president respect international court?
    Apr 12, 2013
    Kenya's new president missed the opportunity on day one to declare unequivocal commitment to the International Criminal Court and his administration should do so as soon as possible, says campaign group
  • Kenya: Q&A on Recent Developments on the International Criminal Court
    Apr 8, 2013

    On April 9, 2013, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta was sworn in as Kenya’s president, following a Supreme Court decision rejecting challenges to the March 2013 election. Kenyatta, along with the deputy president-elect, William Samoei Ruto, both face trial (in two separate cases) before the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of committing crimes against humanity during Kenya’s 2007-2008 post-election violence.

  • Kenya: New Leadership Should Uphold Rights and Obligations
    Apr 8, 2013

    President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, who are being sworn in April 9, 2013, should ensure full cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC), Human Rights Watch said today. Their new government should also uphold and protect the bill of rights in Kenya’s constitution, Human Rights Watch said.

     

  • Kenya: Ensure Violence-Free Polls
    Feb 8, 2013
    The Kenyan government’s limited progress on promised reforms and failure to address ongoing and past human rights abuses have contributed to tensions across Kenya prior to national elections on March 4, 2013, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The authorities should take urgent steps, including the arrest and fair trial of all those who directly incite or organize violence, to help ensure the elections are peaceful, free, and fair.
  • Kenya: Don’t Force 55,000 Refugees Into Camps
    Jan 21, 2013
    The Kenyan authorities should halt their plan to forcibly move 55,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers from cities to overcrowded and underserviced refugee camps. Citing a number of grenade attacks in 2012, the authorities contend the move will improve Kenyan national security and lead to the return of Somali refugees to Somalia.
  • Letter to the Chairperson of the African Union
    Jan 21, 2013
  • AU Summit: Rights Key for Addressing Crises
    Jan 21, 2013
    The African Union (AU) should make human rights central to its discussions about crises situations in Africa at its summit meeting this week in Ethiopia, Human Rights Watch said today in an open letter to the AU chairperson, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. The Ordinary Summit begins on January 21, 2013, and AU heads of state are due to meet on January 27 and 28 in Addis Ababa.
  • Kenya: Discrimination Against Rift Valley Displaced
    Jan 17, 2013
    The Kenyan government has discriminated based on ethnicity in assisting displaced people from the Rift Valley. The discriminatory practices are stoking inter-ethnic tensions ahead of the March 2013 elections.
more documents on this topic »