The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) takes great exception to a document circulating amongst the local media and various social media platforms supposedly from the Executive Director of the NGO Co-ordination Board, Mr. Fazul Mohammed who purportedly proceeds to deregister KHRC. This is sadly yet another chapter in attempts to harass and intimidate KHRC at the hands of the NGO Co-ordination Board and more specifically Mr. Fazul Mohammed himself. The particulars cited in this letter are baseless allegations that have been directed at KHRC since 2015 and we have consistently addressed and disposed of them each time.

It was alleged then as it is now, that KHRC has operated illegal accounts, failed to abide by its statutory tax obligations, concealed transactions in relation to its board members and made false declarations to the NGO Coordination Board. In what is a recurring trend, KHRC has been condemned unheard by the NGO Coordination Board in clear violation of the Constitution as well as statutory and procedural provisions on this matter. KHRC in fact sought legal redress on these matters specifically in 2015 and obtained a clear judgement against them in Kenya Human Rights Commission v Non-Governmental Organisations Co-Ordination Board [2016] eKLR.

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Kenya has over the years registered very low numbers of women in politics and often women are accused of seeking political positions they have not earned. This has contributed to failure of enacting an affirmative action mechanism to effect the two third gender rule. In 2013 the country saw a reduced representation of women through elected seats in parliament from 9% in the 10^th August house to 5%  in the 11^th August House.  However the preliminary results of the just concluded 2017 general elections provides hope that Kenyan voters are well ahead of policy makers on the issue of women representation and so gender parity is no longer a mirage. The preliminary results indicate that the number of women in the National Assembly is likely to increase from 5% to 8% for the non-affirmative positions and from 0% to 6%in the Senate. So far we have 3 women elected as governors. Joyce Laboso Governor elect for Bomet, Anne Waiguru Governor elect for Kirinyaga and Charity Ngilu Governor elect for Kitui; again an increase from zero to 6%. Additionally there are 3 women senators. Susan Kihika Senator elect for Nakuru, Margaret Kamar Senator elect for Uasin Gishu and Fatuma Dullo Senator elect for Isiolo County.  Kenyans have elected 23 women as Constituency members of parliament as hereunder:

1. Likoni Constituency , Mombasa County – Mishi Mboko , MP Elect
2. Malindi Constituency  , Kilifi Constituency – Aisha Jumwa MP Elect
3. Taveta Constituency , Taita Taveta County- Naomi Shabaan MP Elect
4. Ijara Constituency , Garissa County – Sophia Abdi MP Elect
5. Baringo South – Grace Chelagat Kipchoim –MP Elect
6. Turbo Constituency Uasin Gishu County – Janet Jepkemboi Sitienei ,MP Elect
7. Njoro Constituecny Nakuru County – Charity Kathambi Chepkwony  – MP Elect
8. Naivasha Constituency Nakuru County – Jane Kihara – MP Elect
9. Gilgil Constituency Nakuru County –  Martha Wangari,MP Elect
10. Samburu West Samburu County – Naisula Lesuuda –MP Elect
11. Laikipia North Laikipia County – Sarah  Paulata Korere –MP Elect
12. Kajiado  East , Kajiado County –Peris Tobiko , MP Elect
13. Gatundu North ,Kiambu – Anne Wanjiku Kibe , MP Elect
14. Kigumo ,Muranga County –  Ruth W.Mwaniki, MP Elect
15. Kandara ,Murangá County – Alice Wahome, MP Elect
16. Maragua ,Murangá County – Mary W.Njoroge, MP Elect
17.  Rangwe , Homabay County – Lilian Achieng Gogo, MP Elect
18. Kabondo Kasipul , Homabay County- Eve Akinyi Obaara, MP Elect
19. Suba North ,Homa Bay County – Millie Odhiambo , MP Elect
20. Kasarani , Nairobi City County – Mercy Wanjiku Gakuya ,MP Elect
21. Kitui South Kitui  – Rachael Kaki Nyamai ,MP Elect
22. Kibwezi East , Makueni County – Jessica Nduku Mbalu ,MP Elect
23. Bomet East ,Bomet County – Beatrice Kones ,MP Elect

This is good progress as the trend will expose Kenyans to women leadership and help nurture a broader talent of women aspiring for political leadership.

The commemoration of the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Tran’s phobia, on May 17 each year, is an opportunity to reflect on the impact of violence and discrimination against LGBTI people in our society and to take concrete steps to ensure that all persons, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity, are treated with equality.

IDAHO’s theme this year is Families, an exhortation to think about the role our families and friends play in promoting LGBTI equality. In Kenya, we lament that families and friends remain some of the most violent towards their LGBTI siblings, parents, grandparents, and friends. LGBTI persons experience exclusion from their loved ones, withdrawal of financial and other support, as well as other forms of violence and discrimination, because of whom they are or who they love. In addition, families composed of LGBTI parents and guardians continue to face hurdles not otherwise experienced by non-LGBTI families including the lack of recognition of relationships, deprivation and prohibition of adoptions by LGBTI persons, as well as lack of services such as appropriate health insurance, life insurance, and family laws.

However, families and friends continue to be important stakeholders in the march for LGBTI equality in Kenya. Today, we honour those who have accepted their LGBTI loved ones regardless of who they are or who they love. We urge all Kenyans to practice tolerance, respect, and openness towards all persons, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission continues to urge the Government of Kenya to create laws and policies that address violence and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression. Key among these law reforms includes the repeal of laws criminalising consensual, adult, and private sexual conduct between persons of the same sex, the prohibition of violence and discrimination on grounds of SOGIE, the legal recognition of transgender and intersex persons, as well as provisions which outlaw adoptions by lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals.

1. Madam Chairperson, Honorable Commissioners, State Delegates, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Allow me to begin by applauding the Commission and in particular the Committee on the Prevention of Torture in Africa (CPTA) for the launch of General Comment No. 4 on the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights focusing on the right to redress for victims of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment.
2. This general comment will go a long way in not only providing much needed guidance to mandate holders such as States, National Human Rights Institutions and National Preventive Mechanisms; but also civil society and other non-state actors involved in facilitating redress for victims of torture and other ill treatment. I consider this to be both timely and highly relevant for my country the Republic of Kenya that has a long history of litigation in pursuit of reparations by victims of torture and other ill treatment and now in light of our recently enacted Prevention of Torture Act.
3. It is in this in light that I encourage the Committee on the Prevention of Torture in Africa to engage Kenya on the implementation of the general comment as part of operationalizing the Prevention of Torture Act. I do however note that the responsibility for implementation does not rest on the shoulders of the Commission alone or indeed those of the State. A strong collaboration between State and Non-State actors would be essential and in that regard I would propose the following:

• That civil society as practitioners take the initiative to disseminate and sensitize the public on the General Comment by working closely with victims as well as mandate holders such as National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs).
• That civil society utilizes the General Comment to strengthen the interventions they undertake in pursuit of redress such as litigation seeking reparations for victims as well as in their evaluation of State measures aimed at providing redress. This is also linked with utilizing the General Comment to strengthen policy and legislative advocacy in the arena of redress rights.
• That the Commission makes reference to the General Comment in its decisions and other interactions with the State as well as work with civil society to exploit opportunities for sensitization in the context of country visits.
• That the Commission, NHRIs and civil society collaborate towards the development of context specific indicators for the General Comment in addition to harnessing available good practices such as witness protection and rehabilitation models as well as compensation funds.

4. Finally, while appreciating the prospects for progress presented by the Prevention of Torture Act, I must still call to the attention of the Commission the persistent challenges faced in combating torture and other ill treatment. Despite numerous commitments by the Attorney General, the payment of compensatory awards issued by the Courts in favor of victims of torture and ill treatment continues to be slow and arduous task for victims who feel re-victimized by the inability to enforce the court decisions. We urge the Commission to require the Kenyan government to provide it with a status update on the court awards issued and the status of their implementation.
5. We continue to receive reports of persons in custody being subjected to torture and being denied access to medical care, family visits and visits by their legal representatives. While some reports have been forwarded to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) for investigation, such investigations are hampered by non-cooperation from the police service as well as threats and intimidation directed towards victims who report errant officers and also towards the human rights defenders who try to support them. We call on the Commission to call on the Kenyan government to accord the necessary political and financial support to the Independence Policing Oversight Authority and the Witness Protection Agency and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights as key instruments in facilitating redress for victims of torture and other ill treatment.

Thank you.

Madam Chairperson,

While the Kenya Human Rights Commission welcomes the report by the Chairperson of the Working Group on the Death Penalty and Extra Judicial Executions in Africa, we would like to draw the Commission’s attention to the following;

Kenya has for a long time been considered to be a de-facto abolitionist of the death penalty with the last execution having been done in 1986. Despite the enactment of sentencing guidelines by the then Chief Justice of Kenya in 2015, Courts of law in Kenya continue to pass the death penalty for offences that carry the mandatory death sentence as was evident in the decision of the Court of Appeal in [1]Joseph Njuguna Mwaura & 2 others vs Republic^[2].While the Kenya Human Rights Commission welcomes the President’s decision to commute 2747 convicts from death sentences to life imprisonment;

 We urge the Commission to;

• Call on the Government of Kenya to ratify the second optional protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the abolition of the death penalty.

Madam Chairperson, distinguished guests;

Between 2014 to March 2017, there have been over 487 cases of extra judicial executions by the Police in Kenya in the pretext of maintaining law and order, crowd control management and countering violent extremism. This widespread pattern of extra judicial executions by the Kenyan police is a serious concern for a state that purports to adhere to the rule of law. The extra judicial execution of Kwekwe Mwandaza in Mombasa, Willie Kimani, a lawyer with the International Justice Mission and lately young man in Nairobi’s East Leigh on the 31^st of March 2017 are just some of the many cases documented by Civil Society Organizations and the Media. In response to the East Leigh incident, the Nairobi Police Commander Japheph Koome defended the killings stating and I quote:

“The same gangsters shot dead an officer yesterday. Tell all gangsters out there that when they kill an officer, I am ruthless and they will get it from me.”

This is a clear demonstration of how those charged with maintaining law and order have discharged their duties with impunity and is an indication of the states non commitment to comprehensively address this systemic gross human rights violations.

We urge the Commission to:

• recommend the Government of Kenya to institute a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Extra Judicial Executions.

Madam Chairperson,

KHRC welcomes the report by the Chairperson of the Working Group on Prisons, Conditions of Detention and Policing in Africa and would like to draw the Commission’s attention to the following;

Prison Conditions in Kenya have for a long time been characterized by overcrowding, congestion, poor diet, degrading clothing and bedding, lack of clean water, poor sanitation and infectious diseases amongst other challenges.[1]  Over 55000 prisoners are held in only 118 facilities in Kenya. In the past six years, over 1714 inmates have died in prison with the largest death of 623 being reported in 2013[2]. The large number of people arrested and detained in police cells in Kenya is equally worrying. A recent study on the Criminal Justice System in Kenya suggested that an average of around 5000 people are held in various police stations annually[3].

We urge the Commission to;

• Call upon the Government of Kenya to implement the resolution on the adoption of the “Ouagadougou Declaration and plan of action on accelerating Prison and Penal Reforms in Africa.

Madam Chairperson, Distinguished guests;

Impunity and disregard for the rule of law within a significant cross-section of the police service continues to be a worrying challenge and undermines the huge investments made in police reforms. On numerous occasions, the Kenyan Police has used lethal force; deadly crowd control weapons to disperse peaceful demonstrators and have also conducted extra judicial executions. While we welcome the guidelines for policing of assemblies by law enforcement officials in Africa that was launched during this ordinary session,

We urge the Commission to;

• Call upon the Government of Kenya to investigate and prosecute or recommend for disciplinary action all Police Officers implicated in using lethal force and deadly crowd control weapons.
• Call upon the Government of Kenya to urgently establish a comprehensive training on public order management with reference to other internationally accepted standards

Madam Chairperson,

On Civic space, in the last year alone, various actions were taken by state offices to restrict the operations of Civil Society Organizations. While the Public Benefit Organization Act was passed in January 2013, the Act is yet to be commenced 4 years later. In October 2016, CSO’s successfully obtained a judgment ordering the immediate commencement of the Act; however, the court order to date has not been implemented. Further to the foregoing, attacks on CSOs and human rights defenders have been on the increase as witnessed through threats of deregistration to CSOs as well as use of excessive force during peaceful protests by security agencies.

We call on the Commission to:

• impress upon the Government of Kenya to commence without further delay the Public Benefit Organization’s Act;
• require the government to immediately cease and desist from using arbitrary and unnecessary force and violence to disperse unarmed and peaceful protests and to hold to account security agents who use arbitrary and unnecessary force on unarmed citizens exercising their right to assemble and picket;

Madam Chairperson, distinguished guests;

Corruption in Kenya seems to be spiraling at a very alarming rate. A recent report by Transparency International placed the country 145th out of 176 countries with a score of 26 based on its corruption index. The past year has been replete with the emergence of numerous grand corruption scandals both at the national and county government. Additionally, allegations of corruption in government contracting, particularly for large mining and infrastructural projects have been on the rise. This is particularly worrying for a government that came into power on an anti-corruption ticket. Key ministries mandated to develop and implement policies regarding delivery of basic services have not been spared in the looting.

We call on the Commission to:

• Encourage the government to translate the President’s pledge on fighting corruption into a comprehensive and transparent process based on the rule of law and our Constitution’s standards on leadership and integrity. The fight against corruption must be comprehensive and shielded against any possible accusations of political bias;

Madam Chairperson, distinguished guest;

Over the last 15 months, Civil Society Organizations and media houses in Kenya have reported and documented multiple incidents of torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions implicating police officers. The unlawful execution of Willie Kimani, a lawyer with International Justice Mission (IJM), his client Josephat Mwenda, a motorcycle rider, Joseph Muiruri, a taxi driver and lately a young man in Nairobi’s Eastleigh on the 31^st of April 2017 are just a few of the many cases which got covered in the media. Kenyan Security agencies continue to use lethal crowd control weapons on peaceful demonstrators that has left a number of citizens severely injured and in extreme circumstances led to death.

We urge the Commission to:

• adopt the Resolutions on Death Penalty, Summary Executions and Enforced Disappearances from the 57^th Session and also recommend that Kenya ratifies the International Convention for the Protection of all persons from enforced Disappearance (which was signed by Kenya on the 6^th of February 2007); and
• recommend the Government of Kenya to institute a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Extra Judicial Executions.

Madam Chairperson;

Preparations for the 2017 general elections have been marred with various irregularities as was evidenced in the recently concluded political party primaries. We have condemned in no uncertain terms incidents of violence, particularly on women aspirants, which have included threats and intimidation, physical violence, sexual violence, hate speech, and defamation. The unpreparedness of various state agencies tasked with ensuring that this year’s elections are free, fair, and peaceful may dent the credibility of this election.

We call upon the Commission to constitute a delegation to closely monitor the 2017 General Elections in Kenya to ensure that the exercise is free, fair and credible.

In Conclusion

The KHRC commends the Government of Kenya for its recent recognition of the citizenship rights of the Makonde community. We note the need to expand citizenship rights and state recognition to members of other communities in Kenya and urge the government to implement laws and policies to ensure a fair and efficient citizenship determination and documentation procedure for all stateless persons. In addition, we urge all African Union member states to address the problem of statelessness within their jurisdictions, and draw support from the ACHPR in coming up with laws and policies to address this issue.

ICC Crucial for Atrocity Victims, Global Justice 

Zambia should reaffirm its membership in the International Criminal Court to best advance justice for victims of atrocities, a group of African organizations and international nongovernmental organizations with a presence in Africa said today.

Zambia’s government began public consultations on the country’s ICC membership the week of March 27, 2017. This was in response to the African Union summit’s adoption in January of an “ICC withdrawal strategy.” An unprecedented 16 countries, including Zambia, entered reservations to this decision.

“Zambia has much to gain by staying with the ICC,” said Boniface Cheembe, executive director of Zambia’s Southern African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes. “Zambia has been a role model on the continent in matters of peace, democracy, and human rights. Leaving the ICC would erode the country's leadership and threaten respect for the rights of victims of the most brutal crimes across Africa.”

The organizations, which have long worked together to support justice for grave crimes in Africa, also released an updated video featuring African activists on the importance of the ICC in Africa.

As a member of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), Zambia has a proud history in the establishment of the ICC, the organizations said. SADC was active in the diplomatic conference in Rome in 1998 where the ICC’s treaty was finalized after six weeks of negotiations. SADC members developed 10 principles for an effective, independent, and impartial court at a meeting in Pretoria in 1997.

The ICC is a groundbreaking achievement in the fight against impunity, the organizations said. It is the first and only global criminal court that can prosecute individuals responsible for atrocities. It is a court of last resort in that it has the authority to try genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed since 2002, but only when national courts are unable or unwilling to investigate and prosecute. Since the court’s treaty opened for signature in 1998, 124 countries have become members.

Zambia signed the ICC’s Rome treaty on July 17, 1998, the day it opened for signature, and ratified the treaty on November 13, 2000.

The ICC faces many challenges in meeting the expectations of victims of mass atrocities and member countries, the organizations said. Its inability to reach crimes committed in some powerful countries and their allies is a cause for deep concern, even as claims that the ICC is targeting Africa are not supportedby the facts. The court’s reach is limited to crimes committed on the territories of countries that have joined the court or offered the court authority on its territory, absent a referral by the United Nations Security Council.

“The ICC has room for improvement, but it offers hope to victims who have nowhere else to turn for justice,” said Dewa Mavhinga, Southern Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The court serves African victims who have suffered atrocities.”

The majority of ICC investigations in Africa have arisen in response to requests or grants of authority by governments in the countries where the crimes were committed – as in Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, and Uganda – or through referrals by the UN Security Council – as in Darfur, Sudan and Libya.

The ICC has faced backlash from some African leaders since it issued arrest warrants for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for alleged genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Darfur in 2009 and 2010. In 2016, evidence of the backlash reached new heights when South Africa, Burundi, and Gambia announced they would withdraw from the court, the first countries to take such action.

Gambia has rescinded its withdrawal and South Africa is also re-examining withdrawal, making Burundi the only country to have maintained its withdrawal. Under the ICC Statute, withdrawal goes into effect one year after the state party submits a notification to the UN Secretary-General.

In the wake of the announced withdrawals, many African countries – including Botswana, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Mali, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Tunisia – have affirmed their commitment to remain in the ICC and to work for any reform as ICC members.

“We would encourage Zambia to reaffirm its support for the court, particularly in the absence of any functioning regional criminal court that can hold perpetrators to account,” said Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh, executive director, Southern Africa Litigation Centre. “Zambia’s moves to reconsider its ICC membership raise concern.”

The groups expressing support for Zambia’s continued ICC membership are:

Africa Legal Aid
Africa Centre for International Law and Accountability–Ghana
Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law–Sierra Leone
Centre for Democratic Development–Ghana
Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (Malawi)
Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (Nigeria)
Coalition for the International Criminal Court
Fédération Internationale des Droits de l’Homme
Human Rights Watch
JEYAX Development and Training (South Africa)
Kenya Section of the International Commission of Jurists
Kenya Human Rights Commission
Nigerian Coalition for the ICC
Parliamentarians for Global Action
Southern African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (Zambia)
Southern Africa Litigation Centre (South Africa)
Transnational Threats and International Crime Division of the Institute for Security Studies

In the video, the plain-clothed police officer is seen holding a young man, whom he turns around and shoots. The officer fires a first round of 5 shots into the midsection of the young man. He is then seen requesting for a second firearm and fires another five rounds into the young man who is at this point lying on the ground. The young man, still evidently alive, receives one more shot and his head falls lifelessly onto the pavement. Next to him is the lifeless body of another young man in a pool of blood who apparently was shot earlier.

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