Arbitrary detention without charge and subsequent release of Mr. Kenneth Kirimi Mbae / Threats against Mr. Stephen Musau

April 29, 2010

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Kenya.

Brief description of the information:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the arbitrary detention without charge and subsequent release of Mr. Kenneth Kirimi Mbae, a member of Release Political Prisoners (RPP), a human rights organisation in Kenya, as well as an active member of Bunge la Mwananchi, a grassroots movement that aims at fighting social injustice and promoting accountable leadership at all levels in Kenya.

According to the information received, on April 22, 2010, Mr. Kenneth Kirimi Mbae was arrested in Nairobi near the headquarters of the General Service Unit (GSU)[1] by four persons in civilian clothes. Two other individuals were arrested at the same time and released shortly after.

Although RPP members tried to trace Mr. Kenneth Kirimi Mbae in the different police stations in Nairobi and asked the police to produce Mr. Mbae before justice, his whereabouts remained unknown until April 25, 2010, when Mr. Kenneth Kirimi Mbae was found at Suswa market, Narok district. Mr. Mbae who recently brought police officers to court for a case of arbitrary arrest, was reportedly subjected to ill-treatments while in detention, including intimidation through gunshots being fired in a small room and being beaten. He was also threatened that the police officers would sleep with his wife if he did not own up. He is currently undergoing treatment with the support of the Independent Medico Legal Unit (IMLU).

During his detention, Mr. Kirimi Mbae was reportedly interrogated about his role in RPP and Bunge la Mwananchi as well as about the work carried out by Mr. Stephen Musau, Executive Coordinator of RPP, and the organisation generally with regard to the Mount Elgon military operations[2], and the work of Mr. Musau and the RPP regarding extrajudicial killings and the subsequent sharing of their report with Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

The Observatory denounces the arbitrary arrest of Mr. Kenneth Kirimi Mbae as well as the threats and acts of intimidation against Messrs. Kenneth Kirimi Mbae and Stephen Musau, which seem to merely aim at sanctioning their human rights activities, and fears for their physical and psychological integrity.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Kenya, urging them to:

1. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Messrs. Kenneth Kirimi Mbae and Stephen Musau as well as of all human rights defenders in Kenya;
2. Carry out an immediate, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned events, the result of which must be made public, in order to bring all those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
3. Put an end to all acts of harassment against Messrs. Kenneth Kirimi Mbae and Stephen Musau as well as against all human rights defenders in Kenya so that they are able to carry out their work without hindrances;
4. Comply with all the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular with its Article 1, which provides that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, as well as with Article 12.2 (“the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”);
5. More generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with international and regional human rights instruments ratified by Kenya.

Addresses

• Hon. Mwai Kibaki, The President, Republic of Kenya, P.O. Box 30050 00100 - Harambee Avenue Nairobi, Kenya, Fax: +254-020-243620, Email: president@statehousekenya.go.ke
• Hon. Raila Odinga, Prime Minister, Treasury Building, P.O. Box 74434-00200, Nairobi, Kenya, Email: contact@statehousekenya.go.ke. Fax: +254 20 252 299
• Hon. George Saitoti, Minister for Internal Security, Harambee Avenue, P.O. Box 30510, Nairobi 00200, Kenya, Tel: +254-020-227411
• Hon. Martha W. Karua, E.G.H., M.P., Ministry of Justice, Haile Selassie Avenue, P.O. Box 56057, Nairobi, Kenya, Tel.: 254-20-224029, Email: ps-justice@justice.go.ke
• Commissioner of Police, Kenya Police Headquarters, Vigilance House, Harambee Avenue, P.O. Box 30083, Nairobi, Kenya, Tel: +254-020-341411/6/8, Email: commissioner@police.go.ke, complaints@police.go.ke
• Ms. Florence Simbiri-Jaoko, Chairperson, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, Fax: +254-020- 2716160 E-mail haki@knchr.org
• Ambassador H.E. Mr. Philip Richard O. Owade, Permanent Mission of Kenya to the United Nations in Geneva, Av. de la Paix 1-3, 1202 Genève, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 731 29 05, E-mail: mission.kenya@ties.itu.int
• Embassy of Kenya in Brussels, 208 av. W. Churchill, 1180 Uccle, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 340 10 50 / + 32 2 340 10 68. Email: kenbrussels@hotmail.com

Please also write to the diplomatic representations of India in your respective countries.

Geneva-Paris, April 29, 2010

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

• E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
• Tel and fax OMCT + 41 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29
• Tel and fax FIDH + 33 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

[1] The GSU is a special unit of the Kenyan police established to deal with special operations and civil disorder.

[2] In early March 2008, the Kenyan army was deployed in the Mount Elgon district (western province of Kenya) to clamp down on the activities of the Sabaot Land Defence Forces (SLDF). The SLDF was accused of carrying out an increasing number of attacks on villages, killing people, stealing cattle and destroying homes. According to the Kenyan NGO Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU), the military operation reportedly resulted in mass arrests and subsequent prosecution of over 1,200 persons with most of the persons arrested raising complaints of torture