publications

Recommendations

To the government of Kenya

  • Issue urgent, clear, and public orders to military and police commanders to immediately cease torture and mistreatment of individuals detained in the context of the Mt. Elgon operations and allow unimpeded access of independent humanitarian monitors and medical assistance to detainees.
  • Investigate all claims of unlawful killing, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, rape, and destruction of property by security forces and prosecute those responsible. Criminal investigations should trace any orders to commit such acts to the highest level of commander implicated. Criminal investigations should also address the issue of those criminally responsible under the principle of command responsibility, i.e. those who were in a position to prevent or punish such action and failed to do so.
  • Open a public inquiry into abuses by the security forces in Operation Okoa Maisha; including looking at the formation of policy, operating procedures and command responsibility for joint operations. As part of such an inquiry, establish mechanisms to record grievances by those who have lost relatives, homes, or sustained injuries as a result of the actions of the security forces and make provision for their compensation.
  • Open or re-open impartial criminal investigations into local politicians and leaders implicated in unlawful support for the SLDF.
  • Ensure fundamental due process guarantees to persons in detention, including the right to have their detention immediately reviewed by an independent judicial authority with power to order their release, and to have access to legal counsel, family members, and medical care. All persons detained due to suspicion of having committed a criminal offense should be charged or released. If charged they should receive a trial before an independent court meeting international fair trial standards. Persons detained illegally should receive compensation.
  • Where appropriate, children in detention should be released without charge back to the care of their families as child combatants and provided with psycho-social care and support.
  • Release or transfer detainees in unofficial detention centers on Mt. Elgon such as Kapkota and Kaptama to official detention facilities and cease using those places for detention; ensure that all prisoners detained in Bungoma and Kakamega jails as well as those detained as a result of the operation in police cells throughout the region have immediate access to medical attention, family members, and legal counsel; and find alternative accommodation for detainees in gazetted locations so that overcrowding in Bungoma jail can be eased.
  • Grant access to Kenyan prisons for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) so they can independently and confidentially monitor prison conditions and help connect missing persons with their families.
  • Recover the bodies of those killed by the security forces and dumped in the forest or elsewhere and deliver them to local mortuaries where they can be identified and buried by relatives.
  • Establish an independent civilian-led inspectorate to independently investigate allegations against the police or military when they occur.
  • Make comprehensive land reform a major priority in the commissions dealing with reform in Kenya. The proposed National Land Commission should prioritize investigating allegations of illegal land deals at Chepyuk, demarcating the forest boundary fairly and clearly and compensating those who unfairly lost their land.

To the Sabaot Land Defence Force (SLDF)

  • Immediately cease killing, torture, mutilation, and rape of all persons and issue clear and public orders to all commanders to abide by international humanitarian law, especially with respect to civilian protection.
  • Appropriately discipline any member against whom there is evidence of participation in violations of international humanitarian law.
  • Facilitate full and unimpeded access of independent humanitarian assistance to civilians in need.

To the governments of the US and UK

  • Suspend police and military assistance and cooperation programs until the Kenyan military and Kenyan police fully investigate and take appropriate action regarding allegations of torture and other abuses by their forces.
  • Establish or implement existing screening mechanisms (such as the US Leahy law) to investigate allegations of abuses and deny further training opportunities to individuals implicated in serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law.