• 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).
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Kenya

  • Kenya’s 600,000 Terrorists
    May 29, 2013
    You Are All Terrorists came the dreaded words, as the blows and kicking mercilessly rained down before a police car pulled up and took the suspect away.
  • Kenya: Police Abuse Nairobi’s Refugees
    May 29, 2013

    Kenyan police in Nairobi tortured, raped, and otherwise abused and arbitrarily detained at least 1,000 refugees between mid-November 2012 and late January 2013.

  • Kenya: Witnesses Describe Kisumu Killings by Police
    May 23, 2013
    The Kenyan authorities should promptly investigate and prosecute those responsible for shootings by the police in Kisumu on March 30, 2013. Five people died and at least twenty-four were injured.
  • Here’s a chance to ease the misery of fistula
    May 22, 2013
    Kwamboka W. was still in primary school when she had sex with her first boyfriend. She had no information about contraception and didn’t use any protection. Three months later, she was shocked to learn that she was pregnant.
  • Put a Spotlight on African Women’s Reproductive Rights
    May 19, 2013
    Victoria J. married in 2009 at age 14, and became pregnant shortly after. “I started labour in the morning on a Friday …. The nurse kept checking and saying I would deliver safely. On Monday she said I was weak.
  • African Union: Don’t Let Them In!
    May 13, 2013

    Far from giving in to any effort by Kenya to drive a further wedge between the AU and the ICC, the AU should use its upcoming summit to call publicly for the new government’s full co-operation with the 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.
  • 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).
  • 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.

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