• EDITORIAL POLICY
  • ABOUT US
PML Daily
  • Home
  • NEWS
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Regional
    • Africa
    • World
  • INVESTIGATIONS
    • National Archives
    • Special Reports
  • OpEd
  • BUSINESS
    • Agriculture
    • Tech
    • Finance
  • FEATURES
    • Health
    • Tours & Travel
    • Entertainment
    • Society
  • COLUMNISTS
    • The Suited Penguin
  • SPORT
  • Jobs
  • Magazines
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • NEWS
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Regional
    • Africa
    • World
  • INVESTIGATIONS
    • National Archives
    • Special Reports
  • OpEd
  • BUSINESS
    • Agriculture
    • Tech
    • Finance
  • FEATURES
    • Health
    • Tours & Travel
    • Entertainment
    • Society
  • COLUMNISTS
    • The Suited Penguin
  • SPORT
  • Jobs
  • Magazines
No Result
View All Result
PML Daily
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS

Kenya at critical point, UN warns leaders

Website Manager by Website Manager
September 1, 2017
in NEWS
0 0
32
VIEWS
FacebookWhatsAppTwitter
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at a 35th Session of the Human Rights Council. 6 June 2017. UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré

By PATRICK MAYOYO

& OUR REPORTER

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has commended the peaceful voting in the recent presidential election in Kenya but urged Kenya’s political leaders “to take the responsible path and exercise their leadership to avoid violence.”

The UN Human Rights chief today expressed concern about reports that Kenyan security forces used live ammunition against protesters, and about reports of police brutality, leading to several deaths and injuries, including of children.

Although the Kenyan police reported having recorded less than 10 shooting deaths in the aftermath of the contested polls, independent observers and the opposition place the death toll much higher – in some pronouncements in excess of 100.

Protests erupted after the announcement of results on August 11, with instances of individuals resorting to stone throwing, looting and destruction of property.

“Kenya is at a critical juncture,” Al Hussein said. “The country’s political leaders must do their utmost to calm a volatile political climate. If there are claims to make about the conduct of the elections, they should be made through constitutional and legal means.”

“People have the right to assemble and protest peacefully, and the authorities have a responsibility to ensure they can do so. The government also has a responsibility to ensure that security forces prioritise dialogue, non-violent means and exercise restraint, using proportionate force only when unavoidable,” Al Hussein said.

“Protesters should never resort to violence and political leaders should send clear messages to their supporters urging peaceful conduct. All acts of violence, including the serious allegations of excessive use of force by security forces, must be promptly and independently investigated,” he added.

As part of that effort, the High Commissioner called on the Kenyan government to make an immediate announcement that it will cooperate fully and unequivocally with the Independent Policing Oversight Authority and with subsequent efforts to ensure accountability.

The global human rights mandarin also expressed deep concern that Kenya’s NGO Coordination Board on Tuesday, August 15 called for a prominent NGO, the African Centre for Open Governance to be shut down and for its directors and members to be arrested.

This comes after yesterday’s decision by the NGO Coordination Board to de-register another well-respected NGO, the Kenya Human Rights Commission.

It is not yet clear if the deregistration had anything to do with the organisation’s bold and independent comments about how the authorities have conducted themselves in respect to the elections. But the High Commissioner called for civil society actors and media to be allowed to work without hindrance or fear of retaliation.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission and the African Centre for Open Governance both condemned the killings by security forces.

Although independent observers think a purge is underway, the Kenyan government claims it shut down the commission for not allegedly not paying taxes and misusing funds.

The underlying ethnic tensions, protests and sporadic violence which have hit the country recall the post-election mayhem which exploded in Kenya in 2007/08 after opposition leader Raila Odinga disputed the election results, saying that the poll was fixed to keep incumbent, Mwai Kibaki i power at his expense.  At least 1,100 people were slaughter then with hundreds of thousands being forced to flee for their lives.

Similar, if not as extreme, scenes played out in 2013 when Odinga charged that like Kibaki before him, President Uhuru Kenyatta had stolen the election.

International peace brokers, including former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, have at various times been asked to mediate between the parties to avert the possibility of the country suffering even more bloodshed.

reporter.co.ke

 

Comments

Tags: electionsKenyaKenya electionsOdingatopU

Related Posts

NRM National Treasurer Rosemary Namayanja Nsereko during a press briefing on Sunday (PHOTO/Courtesy).
NEWS

NRM scoops big in local council, special interest group elections

January 24, 2021
106
Chris Baryomunsi, State Minister for Housing
NEWS

Baryomunsi under fire as his army escorts shoot agent of LC5 candidate in Kanungu

January 24, 2021
439
Nigerian singer Omah Lay performing at Ddungu Resort on Saturday (PHOTO/Courtesy).
Society

Omah Lay: The night I met Ugandan fans was perfect, I would want to go back

January 24, 2021
148
Comedian Salvador and President Museveni respectively (PHOTO/File).
Society

Salvador: Supporting Museveni doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with everything his government does!

January 24, 2021
132
File photo shows Soldiers stand guard during the formal inauguration ceremony of the United Nations Guard Unit (UNGU), a defensive military enity mandated to protect UN staff and installations in Mogadishua, capital of Somalia, May 18, 2014 (Xinhua/Faisal Isse).
Regional

Ugandan peacekeepers kill 189 militants in SW Somalia

January 24, 2021
164
Uganda football agent Ronnie Santos after being caught from a hotel in Kisumu (PHOTO/Courtesy).
SPORT

How Uganda football agent was nubbed in Kenyan match-fixing scandal

January 24, 2021
124






 

 

About

The PML Daily, published via www.pmldaily.com is a publication of Post Media Ltd, a professional Digital/New Media company in Uganda.

Follow us

KIU

  • EDITORIAL POLICY
  • ABOUT US

© 2020 PMLDAILY.COM

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • NEWS
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Regional
    • Africa
    • World
  • INVESTIGATIONS
    • National Archives
    • Special Reports
  • OpEd
  • BUSINESS
    • Agriculture
    • Tech
    • Finance
  • FEATURES
    • Health
    • Tours & Travel
    • Entertainment
    • Society
  • COLUMNISTS
    • The Suited Penguin
  • SPORT
  • Jobs
  • Magazines

© 2020 PMLDAILY.COM

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In