Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in Kenya 2003
By reading this post you will get a good insight of Kenya - “the truth behind the scene” and you should (read this article) as it may affect you if you’re gonna be in Kenya. The source (found at the bottom) includes much more information in each topic - it was just too much to publish in this “small” article.
The topics included is: Police corruption, Denial of Fair Public Trial, Freedom of Speech and Press, Freedom of Peaceful Assembly, Discrimination (of children and women).
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in Kenya 2003 (Released feb. 2004)
The spread of HIV/AIDS, estimated to have infected approximately 14 percent (aprox. 4,312,000) of the population between the ages of 14 and 49 (and in some areas up to estimated 30% is infected), had increasingly adverse effects on the country’s wage-earners, including teachers and other professionals. A weakened infrastructure–unreliable power and telecommunication systems and roads in disrepair–exacerbated economic problems and disinvestment.
Police corruption
Police corruption was systematic and widespread. A July survey conducted by The Public Service Integrity Program found that the police force was viewed as the most corrupt entity within the society of the country. In May, the SCHR reported that police arrested petty offenders over the weekend “probably with the sole purpose of extorting bribes” and that police in conjunction with prosecutors resorted to “unexplained illegal confinements, extortion, torture, and the preferring of highly questionable and fabricated non-bailable charges” as a cover-up for malpractice. Police often held such detainees for lengthy periods without trial.
Impunity was a serious problem. In its May report, the SCHR noted the “systematic cover-up or attempted cover-up in cases involving allegations of torture, excessive use of force or extrajudicial shooting.” Officers were rarely prosecuted for using excessive force. Investigations by SCHR of numerous cases alleging torture revealed that “there was a code of silence under which officers failed to report brutality, destroyed evidence, or threatened witnesses in an effort to cover-up abuses, contributing to a climate of impunity.” Public officials at times made pronouncements calling on security forces to discharge their duties responsibly and to use restraint; however, such pronouncements had little effect on police behavior.
To reduce inducements for corruption, in July, President Kibaki announced a 115 percent increase in police salaries, effective January 2004 and pledged to improve the living and working conditions of police. The starting salary for a police officer was $61 (4,654 Kenyan shillings) a month.
Denial of Fair Public Trial
The court system consisted of a Court of Appeals, a High Court, and two levels of magistrate courts, where most criminal and civil cases originated. The Chief Justice was a member of both the Court of Appeals and the High Court, thus undercutting the principle of judicial review. Military personnel were tried by military courts-martial, and verdicts may be appealed through military court channels. The Chief Justice appointed attorneys for military personnel on a case-by-case basis.
Civilians are tried publicly, although some testimony may be given in closed session. The law provides for a presumption of innocence, and defendants have the right to attend their trial, to confront witnesses, and to present witnesses and evidence. Civilians also can appeal a verdict to the High Court and ultimately to the Court of Appeals. Judges hear all cases. In treason and murder cases, the deputy registrar of the High Court can appoint three assessors to sit with the High Court judge. The assessors are taken from all walks of life and received a sitting allowance for the case. Although the assessors render verdicts, their judgments are not binding. Lawyers can object to the appointments of specific assessors.
Defendants do not have the right to government-provided legal counsel, except in capital cases. For lesser charges, free legal aid rarely was available, and then only in Nairobi and other major cities. As a result, poor persons may be convicted for lack of an adequate defense. Although defendants have access to an attorney in advance of trial, defense lawyers do not always have access to government-held evidence. The Government can plead the State Security Secrets Clause as a basis for withholding evidence, and local officials sometimes classified documents to hide the guilt of government officials. Court fees for filing and hearing cases were high for ordinary citizens. The daily rate of at least $25 (2,000 Kenyan shillings) for arguing a civil case before a judge was beyond the reach of most citizens.
The country has Islamic courts that resolve disputes, adjudicate inheritance questions and marital issues, and handle other civil matters where all parties are Muslim and accept the court’s jurisdiction.
Freedom of Speech and Press
On March 9, GSU officers reportedly assaulted BBC and Daily Nation reporters, who were covering a peaceful protest in Turkana, and seized their equipment (see Section 2.b.). The journalists reported the incident to police; however, apart from the transfer of one GSU officer, no action had been taken by year’s end.
On September 29, police arrested East African Standard journalists Tom Mshindi, David Makali, and Kwamchetsi Makokha for publishing an article about the confession of suspects in the killing of University of Nairobi professor Crispin Mbai (see Section 1.a.); the three journalists were charged with violating a Penal Code section which precludes the publishing of “any false statement, rumor or report which is likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or disturb the peace.” Police subsequently interrogated the journalists to determine the source of their report on Mbai’s killing, which some observers believed was politically motivated. Several M.P.s criticized the arrests, which the Kenya Union of Journalists charged were an effort by the Government to intimidate the press. Mshindi and Makokha were released the day of their arrest. Makali, who was charged with stealing public property–a cassette containing the transcript of a police interrogation–was eventually released.
No action was taken against supporters of the now defunct National Development Party, who in March 2002 beat Nation journalist Odhiambo Orlale with clubs, or in the September 2002 beating of a television crew by persons attending a political rally organized by the opposition “Rainbow Alliance.”
There were no developments in the investigation of the April 2002 beating in Nairobi of People Daily photographer Collins Kweyu by city council guards.
In May 2002, Parliament passed a controversial bill regulating the media. Under the act, commonly known as the “Media Bill,” publishers were required to purchase a bond of $12,800 (one million Kenyan shillings) before printing any publication and to deposit copies of their newspapers and books with a registrar within 2 weeks of publication. The bond amount was a 100-fold increase over the previous bond amount of $128 (10,000 Kenyan shillings). The law makes it a crime to sell or distribute publications not deposited or bonded, under penalty of a fine of $256 (20,000 Kenyan shillings) or 6 months’ imprisonment. Some members of the media were concerned that the Government would use this law, the Books and Newspapers Act, and the Official Secrets Act to stifle freedom of expression.
Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
On March 13, security forces arrested an IMLU employee and 30 other persons for holding an illegal assembly and inciting violence; the group had provided local police with advance notice of their meeting.
On September 15, police mounted roadblocks and fired tear gas into 3 buses carrying approximately 300 university students, who were traveling to a demonstration to protest the September 14 killing of Crispin Odhiambo Mbai (see Section 1.a.). Police reportedly whipped the students as they fled the buses to escape the gas.
Discrimination
The law prohibits FGM, also referred to as “female genital cutting,” for girls under 18 and forced FGM on girls or women of any age; however, FGM was practiced by certain ethnic groups and remained widespread, particularly in rural areas. According to a 2001 report by the Government and UNICEF, 38 percent of women nationwide have undergone FGM; however, according to the women’s rights organization Maendeleo Ya Wanawake (”Development of Women” in Swahili), the percentage of girls undergoing the procedure was as high as 80 to 90 percent in some districts of Eastern, Nyanza, and Rift Valley provinces.
Prostitution is illegal; however, it was a problem and was perpetuated by poverty. Prostitution has contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS, which affected approximately 13 percent of the population. In June 2002, the U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) reported that 30 percent of pregnant women in Embu District in Eastern Province were HIV-positive, making it the area with the highest rate of infection in the country.
Child rape and molestation continued. There were repeated reports of molestation or rape of children by schoolteachers, mostly in rural areas, and there were frequent press reports of rapes of young girls by middle-aged or older rapists. For example, in February, a police constable was arrested for the defilement of a 14-year-old girl; the constable was awaiting trial at year’s end. Legally, a man does not “rape” a girl under age 14 if he has sexual intercourse with her against her will; he commits the lesser offense of “defilement.”
Child prostitution was a major problem in Nairobi and Mombasa, often connected with the tourist trade. Child prostitution has grown considerably due both to economic contraction and to the increase in the number of children orphaned because of the spread of HIV/AIDS. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), approximately 30,000 girls under the age of 19 years were engaged in prostitution in the country.
The Standard also reported that there were an estimated 250,000 children living on the streets in urban areas–primarily Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Nakuru–a figure that it said was a conservative estimate. These children often were involved in theft, drug trafficking, assault, trespassing, and property damage. Street children faced harassment as well as physical and sexual abuse from the police and within the juvenile justice system.
Sources:
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (Rel. 2004)
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (Rel. 2005)
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (Rel. 2006)
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (Rel. 2007)