The Kenya Human Rights Commissions (KHRC) wishes to express shock and dismay at the judgment enter in the Consolidated Constitutional Petitions 150 and 234 of 2015.The petitioners who included ourselves sought a determination of the court on constitutionality of making criminal sexual activities among the members of the LGBT community and other persons.

In its judgment, rather than avail protection and reprieve to the historically marginalized group of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender persons as well as other queer and non-binary persons, the High Court instead chose to delegitimize them and their existence and reduced fundamental issues of dignity, equality and non-discrimination to morality issues, thus exposing an already-vulnerable group to increased stigma, discrimination and violence.

Over the years, the KHRC has documented the violations of the LGBT+ community on account of the real or perceived gender identity. In 2011, the KHRC published a report, Outlawed Among Us, which captures all the challenges posed by the sexual act of the LGBT+ communities being criminalized. Armed with such evidence, and aware of the lived experiences of the LGBT+ community, we cannot help being saddened and shocked by this decision under our current Constitution.

The KHRC commits to continue its pursuit of equal protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of all persons including those of the LGBT+ community. In the meantime we urge all Kenyans to exercise consideration for others, regardless of biases based on religion, culture or personal preferences and restrain from any acts of hate.

Madam Chair esteemed guests, all protocols observed.

We would like to bring to your attention and highlight key concerns regarding the state of human rights in Africa.

The right to freedom of assembly and association is the pillar of freedom of expression, democracy and good governance which provides the foundation for the promotion and protection of other fundamental rights and freedom. It is therefore worrying that, a number of African governments have enacted, or are in the process of enacting restrictive laws that prevent human rights defenders, journalists, activists and civil society organizations to freely access and share information, protest, organize and actively participate in the running of their governments.

We are also deeply concerned with the increasingly arbitrary changes to Constitutions to either relax term limits or scrap them altogether. After an initial period of limited presidential mandates, the continent is now faced with a return of life presidencies.  The changes to constitutions in this manner also limit the powers of the judiciary and installs autocratic executive governments. This goes against the principle of the judicial independence which is a key foundation to ensuring that the rule of law is upheld even when it might be unpopular. It is also one of the pillars for ensuring equal treatment of everyone before the law.

Madam Chair,

We join those who have spoken in other forums, to express concern about the human right situation in Egypt. The silencing of the voices of dissents especially from human rights activists, journalists and civil society organizations is now at a perilous pitch. The democratic space in this country is under challenge. This is manifested by the freezing of the assets of civil society organization in Egypt. Independent media has come under threat or is totally non-existent. We note with concern the crackdown against civil society organizations, which has forced some of them into exile. The promotion and protection of human rights in Egypt has been met with force,  which has been reinforced through a number of human rights violations notably enforced disappearance, torture and other forms of cruel and degrading treatment, violations of the right of defense, the court’s excessive reliance on anonymously sourced police investigation reports, and the filming and the broadcasting of defendants’ confessions before and during trial, and even after the handing down of death sentences . The death penalty is rampantly used in Egypt making it the 6th highest executioners in the world and the leading in Africa.

Even in the hosting of a continental session on human rights in Africa, we continue to see Egypt blatantly restrict participation of human rights organizations through the denial visas to some civil society colleagues, restrictions on meeting space that has deterred many of us from holding meeting in the sidelines of NGO forum and the ordinary session; no presence of the Egyptian press; and importantly low participation of Egyptian women.

Recommendations

We call on the Commission to:

• Urge  all states to respect and uphold the African declaration of the principles on freedom of expression in Africa
• Call on Egypt to repeal all its laws that restrict fundamental rights and freedoms and ensure that the there is an environment for meaningful participation of the civil society organizations, the independent media and other independent voices.
• In future ensure that state that offer to host the ordinary session avail the necessary environment for genuine human rights dialogue.
• Ensure that the review of the human rights situation is meaningful and takes into account the views of Egyptians including those in exile and detention

Thank you

Kenya Human Rights Commission (Observers status number 191)

Signed

Over the last nine years, several legal and institutional reforms have sought to transform the National Police Service into an accountable, professional and a human rights compliant institution in line with our constitutional aspiration. As the leadership of the National Police Service transitions from Joseph Boinnet to Hillary Mutyambai, it is an opportunity to take a moment to reflect on the progress made and the challenges being faced by the National Police Service.

This report focuses on six issues of public interest. They are crime prevention and response, human rights compliance, integrity and police corruption, independence of the Office of the Inspector General, management of police welfare, community policing and public partnerships.

Despite investment of billions of shillings into legal and institutional reforms, police accountability especially in the areas of bribery and extortion, public order management and human rights violations have largely remained unrealized. During the 2017 General Elections, the police repeatedly used excessive force to manage public dissatisfaction with the management of the electoral processes. The Police Reforms Working Group are also deeply concerned by the ongoing intimidation and criminalization of human rights defenders seeking justice. In recent contrast to statements by the Interior Cabinet Secretary, Director of Public Prosecutions and the Director of Criminal Investigations, the previous Inspector General often issued public denials and was non-committal on eliminating human rights abuses by his officers.

The opportunity of utilising the three new oversight agencies to increase professionalism was largely missed. Over the last four years, the Police Service has been regularly criticised by their lack of full cooperation with IPOA investigations and DPP prosecutions.

The former Inspector General should be commended for issuing the guidelines on Community Policing. The incoming Office of the Inspector General must now accelerate their operationalisation. A key resource now available to his or her office will be the Community Social Justice Centres and human rights organisations. These civic organisations have become significant resources on security issues, especially in low income areas that face unique security challenges.

The Inspector General of Police and the National Police Service have yet to exert their independence from the Executive as constitutionally required. Despite efforts to increase salaries, benefits and the welfare of police officers, police welfare remains a major concern and must be a focus of the incoming Inspector General and the Interior Ministry.

The Police Reforms Working Group offers this report to assist the incoming Inspector General and oversight agencies to further deepen the radical reforms needed. Greater leadership by the in-coming Inspector General on these issues will strength police effectiveness, professionalism and compliance with human rights and fundamental freedoms. We extend our hand to the incoming Inspector General of Police, Mr. Hillary Mutyambai, to address the six public interest issues contained in this report. We also extend our hand to the relevant duty bearers such as the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, The Attorney General, Kenya Law Reforms Commission and the National Police Service Commission.

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1. That President Uhuru Kenyatta gives a directive to all relevant actors in Government to provide a platform for exchange with victims of past injustices representatives on implementation of the TJRC Report recommendations;
2. That the Attorney General of Kenya provides the public with a progress report of the reparations agenda in Kenya as envisioned by the TJRC as well as by the President in his 2015 State of The Nation Address. This includes the status of the Reparations Regulations/framework developed through his office in 2017 and as committed to in the Universal periodic Review of 2015 as well as give a proposed timeline for the implementation of the Restorative Justice Fund;
3. That the Speakers of both Senate and National Assembly finally adopt the TJRC report to allow full implementation of its recommendations;
4. That the Chief Justice of Kenya fast tracks the cases before the Courts touching on human rights violations and historical injustices;
5. That the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary joins hands to ensure that the commitments made to victims and survivors of human rights violations in Kenya both at all levels – national, regional and international – are realized immediately.

In late February 2019, KHRC traveled to Machakos County after receiving reports of multiple counts of child sex abuse at Martyrs of Uganda School in the county. KHRC interviewed one victim of sexual abuse and one parent of a victim of sexual abuse. KHRC also made inquiries with the Machakos County Department of Children's Services (DCS), the investigating officer in the case, and the leadership of Machakos Police Station.

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The Police Reforms Working Group hereby condemn the heinous attack and brutality meted against innocent Kenyans at 14 Riverside Drive on Tuesday, the 14th of January 2019.

We send our sincerest condolences to the families of the victims of Tuesday afternoon’s terrorist attack on 14 Riverside drive including the brave officer who died in the line of duty. We join the families, rest of the country, and indeed the whole world in praying for the quick recovery of the injured and those who suffered traumatic experiences during this attack.

We appreciate the quick response and efforts of the first responders: journalists, police, the Kenya Red Cross and other good Samaritans that supported the efforts to save the lives of our brothers and sisters during the attack. Your bravery and selflessness in that very trying moment cannot be adequately rewarded.

We note of the exemplary job of the National Police Service joint command, led by the IG Boinett and other senior officers, both local and international, in the search and rescue operations. We are aware that the first police officers arrived promptly at the scene. During the whole incident, the officers behaved in a most professional manner, bravely forging forward to engage the terrorists, but also being mindful of the victims and calmly reassuring them to safety.

The clear coordination of efforts confirms that the NPS has learned from the past, and is looking ahead to build coherence and effectiveness in policing. This, is indeed the kind of National Police Service envisaged in the Constitution of Kenya and the National Police Service Act.

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ROUND TABLE BREAKFAST MEETING: 22^ND NOVEMBER, 2018.

THEME: HARNESSING SYNERGY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS IN TODAYS DYNAMIC POLICING ENVIRONMENT.

Session: CSOS Roles in Collaboration and Cooperation in law Enforcement

Allow us to appreciate this convening which we believe is part of the continuum towards more honest, productive and structured partnerships that have emerged in the recent past in this sector.

Before we make our substantive comments, allow us to reframe the session to read “policing” instead of ‘law enforcement’ for the business before us is beyond law enforcement. The reason being that the way you frame this discussion informs the approach you take. While law enforcement narrows this down to uninformed institutional agency, policing embraces prevention and public and other stakeholder participation.

Law enforcement can be a very effective way to maintain public order and punish crime inasmuch as it is focused on requiring the members of a community or society to comply with the law or face the consequences. The problem of law enforcement alone as a response to crime is that it is singular in its approach, responding to effects without consideration for causes. The problem of law enforcement alone as a response to crime is that it is singular in its approach, responding to effects without consideration for causes.

The term policing has come to mean an approach to crime fighting through community service and problem-solving. The idea of policing requires a holistic approach to community service, taking into account the problems that plague a community and working with the people within that community to solve them. Policing requires cooperation from residents, business owners, and leaders who participate in the process of reducing crime and improving quality of life. While this idea of community policing may sound revolutionary, it actually dates back to the earliest days of the modern police force.

The latter is what Article 244 (e) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010; Section 41-44 and 96-100 of the National Police Service Act (amended 2015)

Having dealt with that we reiterate our appreciation partnership and multi-stakeholder approach taken by the Ministry of Interior since April 2018. This has approach has begun to bear fruits. The development of the National Policing Multi-Stakeholders Consultative Committee Reforms Matrix is among the initial concrete results of this partnership, as is the launch of the policy document on policing housing and coordination on September 13^th 2018.

We also appreciate the new approach by the Inspector General and his top leadership including the county tours to create awareness and champion the envisaged reforms.

We recognize the timely appointment of the new board members of the IPOA and would like to congratulate them for the privilege and honor they have been given to serve in such a sensitive, challenging office, yet one with so much promise for Kenyans.

We will not hesitate to caution the new board members of the following:

1. The high expectations Kenyans have of this second generation board-a board who have found a functioning organization; not hindered by the rigors of establishing one, their only duty is to ensure that the function of police accountability is taken to the next level; they must deliver results so impactful
2. The temptations of public office especially personal aggrandizement and personal glory. The temptation to make themselves full time and how this may affect the relationship with the secretariat and cost to the tax payer. The temptation to seek top of the range comfort and VIP protection!

We call upon the new board to deepen the partnerships so far established with civil society and other intermediaries for victims. For instance we look forward to the appointment of the civil society liaison board member and the signing of MOUs with victim intermediary institutions.

We also look forward the board enhancing feedback mechanism with victim intermediary institutions which is currently either absent or non-functional.

One of the key concerns that continues to erode civil society confidence in this renewed partnership is the issue of police killings. Since April 2018 when this new approach commenced, we have recorded xxxxxxxxxx cases of police killings. In most of these cases the information in our possession indicate that ere was no justifiable reason to use lethal force.  A few examples suffice:

1. Evans Odhiambo- A Grogon-based mechanic who lived in Mathare North
2. Caleb Espino in Mombasa (Changamwe Police Station)
3. David Kariuki in Dandora and his 2 cousins
4. A 17-year old John Njuguna in Mathare North, among others

Two worrying issues about these killings are:

1. The new development where our members have become targets for intimidation and threats on phone and social media for demanding a cessation and accountability for these killings
2. The threat on professionals carrying out medico-legal documentation on instructions from families of the deceased.
3. The often expressed view within the security sector that they have no choice than to execute suspects of crime
4. The fact that despite families, civil society and community members raising complaints about specific officers suspected of involvement in these killings these officers are still in situ in the police station jurisdictions where these killings are happening;
5. The low rates of compliance to the mandatory reporting to IPOA
6. The failure by IPOA to hold to account over the last 5 years, police officers and their superiors who fail to report every case of injury and death resulting from the use of force.

As we continue to engage in this multi-stakeholder approach, it is our opinion as a Working Group that the issue of accountability is the deal breaker! If this is not handled, all other pillars of police reform including enhancing public trust and community policing will remain a mirage.

Lastly we reiterate the need for the National Policing Multi-Stakeholders Consultative Committee to resume operations in a structured and purposively manner in support of the reforms already agreed in the Matrix agreed in September 2018.

We welcome a candid conversation regarding these matters

Police Reforms Working Group-Kenya

November 23^rd, 2018

1. We the Police Reforms Working Group-Kenya (PRWG-K), the Social Justice Centre Working Group (SJCWG) and human rights defenders pass our deepest condolences to police officers and civilians who have been victims of acts of crime in the recent past, and wish the surviving ones quick recovery.
2. We are well aware that Kenyans are increasingly experiencing violent crime. We therefore cannot under any circumstances underestimate the trauma that our society is living through, due to the increase in cases of violent crime, and the apparent inability of the National Police Service to reduce these incidences and, or successfully prosecute these cases.
3. We stand with Kenyans, especially victims of violent crime who are extremely frustrated by the increased number of suspects who continue to roam freely intimidating and threatening victims and witnesses, eliminating witnesses, and in some cases committing new crimes, mainly due to botched investigations and police corruption.
4. However the Police Reforms Working Group- Kenya (PRWG-K) wishes to express grave concern over increasing incidences of deaths from police use of lethal force in the country. Over the past one month, incidences of torture and extrajudicial executions implicating police officers are on an all- time high. This is especially regrettable at a time when the country is embracing the new police reforms initiatives to transform our police force to a civilian-centered police service

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