Kenya’s under-fire president and his deputy have come under renewed attack for their human rights record from the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH).
According to the two organisations, Kenyan authorities led by Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto “have attempted to clamp down on dissenting voices, either through the adoption of restrictive legislation aimed at further regulating the NGO or media sectors.”
The groups also condemned “violent police crackdowns on demonstrators” and alleged “judicial harassment of protesters and human rights defenders”.
The past year of the Jubilee coalition government “has been a period within which freedom of association and freedom of peaceful assembly have been constantly under threat,” said KHRC director Atsango Chesoni.
“This undermining of these and other constitutional human rights gains must stop if Kenya is to truly follow the path of democracy and the rule of law,” she added.
Kenyatta and Ruto were also criticised for refusing to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC), where they face charges for crimes against humanity over their role in post-2007 election violence. The violence, which Kenyatta and Ruto are accused of orchestrating while they were political rivals, left at least a thousand people dead.
“Instead of fulfilling their obligation to ensure that victims of post-election violence get justice and redress, Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto have spent their entire first year in office actively undermining these non-derogable rights,” FIDH President Karim Lahidji said, adding: “It is time for them to uphold Kenya’s constitution and its international obligations.”
