By Irũngũ Houghton
Coming less than a fortnight from International Human Rights Day, the release of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights “State of Human Rights” Report is essential reading for all citizens and policymakers. The well researched 24-page report details significant human rights violations and omissions that have taken place during the first year of the 47+1 administrations. It also offers corrective actions that can be taken to lift the lives of millions above the constitutional bar.
The report is timely. The Kenyan constitution officially became a teenager this year. In the next two weeks, Kenya will celebrate 60 years since the late Field-Marshal Muthoni wa Kirima and others delivered our independence. 206 states will also celebrate 75 years since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The government agency’s report is distressing reading. It indicates the nation is experiencing the eating disorders, bullying, depression, and poor grades challenges many teenagers grapple with currently. Read against the Amnesty International Kenya July 2022 Scorecard on the Jubilee administration, the report also suggests Kenya Kwanza has not transformed the shortfalls they criticised in their predecessor and may have, created some demons of its own.
Course correction is urgently needed to realise the right to education and food and freedom from discrimination and violence. A rushed transition to the competency-based public-school curriculum saw 160,000 learners drop out of school. Despite commendable attempts to revitalise agriculture through fertilizer subsidies and other incentives, 2.8 million people still face acute food insecurity across a quarter of the counties. Most Kenyans remain apprehensive of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) without public participation or clear bio-safety guarantees.
Why did the July El Nino early warning by the Kenya Meteorological Department not trigger better disaster management preparedness? The relentless floods have been allowed to destroy properties, displace 56,000 and kill 52 people. The Sh25 billion promised by national and county governments seems to have drowned as well. Outrageously, this figure is just higher than the Sh20 billion ministries found to spend on foreign and domestic travel this year.
The state must address increasing incidents of unauthorized forced evictions and demolitions in Athi River and Narok county, enforced abductions, intimidation of sexual minorities and grand corruption. Since the active whipping up of public hatred against sexual minorities in March, the Commission has documented 98 cases of harassment, death threats and physical attacks with 65 cases of forced evictions or Kenyans being forced to temporarily relocate for their safety.
The report echoes recent Maraga Task Force findings that police reforms have stalled or worse still, reversed. Corruption is at an all-time high and no police commander has been held accountable for the violent maandamano policing. Let’s see if Interior Cabinet Secretary Kindiki will kick start policy dialogue on the future of Kenyan policing as recommended by the former Chief Justice.
The KNCHR report also has positive findings. It lauds the new Mental Health (Amendment) Act, the Primary Healthcare Act, Social Health Insurance Act, Digital Health Act, and the Facility Improvement Financing Act while cautioning on the dangers of annual payments locking out those economically challenged. Police investigators, anti-terrorism units and prosecutors have also secured 23 anti-terrorism convictions and restricted the geographical coverage of radicalised extremists.
Grand corruption and abuse of office remains the biggest threat to the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and a second term. Without transparency and accountability in the agriculture and oil sector among others, the President’s agenda will be still born. Mortgaged by those in Government and their cartels, everyday Kenyans will find their lives becoming increasingly unbearable while those they elected flaunt opulence and lifestyles.
As the President was reminded in the European Parliament this week, constitutional fidelity, keeping civic space open and protecting our journalists clearly distinguishes us from other countries in the region. On 9 November, the President asserted in his State of the Nation address to Parliament that “citizen freedoms and fundamental rights lie at the heart of enterprise and democracy”, acting on the KNCHR report would be a clear sign his government means it.
Irũngũ Houghton is Amnesty International Kenya Executive Director and writes in his personal capacity. Email: [email protected]
This opinion was also published in the Saturday Standard 25 November 2023