Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 20:59:36 +0200
Kenya failing post-election violence victims, says Amnesty
Rights group says people have been left poor and marginalised by the
government's failure to deliver justice after 2007-08 vote
* Sam Jones <http://www.theguardian.com/profile/samjones>
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* theguardian.com <http://www.theguardian.com/> ,
* Tuesday 15 July 2014 15.54 BST
The
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/mar/31/international-criminal-court-k
enya-violence> post-election violence that shook Kenya six years ago may
have included 40,000 incidents of sexual and gender-based violence,
according to <http://www.amnesty.org/> Amnesty International, which is
calling on the government to bring those responsible to justice.
More than 1,100 people were killed, thousands injured and more than 600,000
forced to flee their homes after disputed poll results led to clashes
between ruling party and opposition supporters between December 2007 and
February 2008.
In Amnesty's report,
<http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR32/001/2014/en> Crying for
justice, the <http://www.theguardian.com/law/human-rights> human rights
group says the government's failure to investigate the crimes has left some
victims powerless, poor and marginalised. According to the report, which is
based on interviews with victims and civil society groups, many Kenyans are
struggling to recover from injuries sustained during the unrest, while
others are awaiting compensation for the loss of property and livelihoods.
While some people have been resettled, many continue to be neglected.
The study also found that many rapes had gone unreported: although 900 cases
were reported to the commission of inquiry into the post-election violence,
some estimates put the number of of sexual and gender-based attacks at
40,000.
Amnesty's research suggests many victims did not go to the police for fear
of abuse or reprisals. Others said they were asked for money when they
reported crimes, or were threatened with being implicated in some of the
events they had witnessed. The commission of inquiry's report found that the
police were responsible for 405 of the 1,113 deaths.
In September,
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/05/kenya-icc-international-crimin
al-court> Kenyan MPs voted to pull out of the international criminal court
(ICC), after it
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/01/icc-trial-kenya-kenyatta-ruto>
charged the country's president, Uhuru Kenyatta, and his deputy, William
Ruto, with crimes against humanity in connection to the alleged
orchestration of post-election violence.
Last week, Kenyatta's lawyers renewed their calls for the charges to be
dropped, arguing that there was no evidence to support the allegations.
Kenyatta's <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-26834203> long-delayed
trial is scheduled to begin in October. Kenyatta and Ruto, whose trial has
also experienced problems and delays, deny the charges.
Amnesty is urging the government to show its commitment to justice by
co-operating fully with the ICC; establishing a committee to implement the
recommendations of the truth, justice and reconciliation commission; and
doing more to protect victims, witnesses and human rights activists working
on post-election violence and reparation.
"Six years after post-election violence rocked
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/kenya> Kenya, the victims are still
awaiting justice," said
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/amnesty-international> Amnesty
International's secretary general, Salil Shetty. "It is vital that their
voices are heard and urgent action is taken."
Muthoni Wanyeki, regional director for east
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/africa> Africa at Amnesty International,
said justice delayed was justice denied. "In the past, both the Kenyan
government and parliament have consistently obstructed efforts to
investigate and prosecute those suspected of committing crimes under
international law," she said. "It is time to end impunity, to provide
reparation for those who have suffered and to finally bring this shameful
chapter in our history to a close."
In May last year,
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/22/uhuru-kenyatta-election-violen
ce-report> Kenyatta and Ruto were among those accused of planning and
financing the post-election violence. However, the truth justice and
reconciliation commission report did not recommend prosecution for the pair,
as they already faced the action at the ICC.
Kenyatta's family - including his father, founding president Jomo Kenyatta -
were named in the report as having presided over a government responsible
for human rights violations and the illegal allocation of land.
MDG : A Kenyan man is surrounded by riot police during post-election
violence in Nairobi
A Kenyan man is surrounded by riot police during post-election violence in
Nairobi in 2008. Photograph: Uriel Sinai/Getty Images
(image/jpeg attachment: image003.jpg)