Despite the Electoral Commission of Kenya has validated the results of the ballot, the leader of the opposition, Mr Raila Odinga, as well as the Kenya Domestic Observation Forum, KHRC and the international community such as the European Union denounce serious irregularities during the electoral process. Notably, massive differences in 49 constituencies between the total of parliamentary and the presidential votes combined with the delay of the official announcement of the results raise great concerns.
Protests of opposition supporters are organised in all big cities, such as Nairobi and Mombassa. These protests are bloodily repressed by security forces in violation of the freedom of expression according to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ratified by Kenya. Thus, the deployment of the army in some region is worrisome. As a reaction, some protesters are responsible for the assassination of Kikuyus, the ethnic group of President Kibaki, and the looting and destruction of their goods. According to different independent sources, more than 300 persons were killed since the elections on 27 December 2007.
FIDH and KHRC fear that these events will turn into serious ethnic clashes as it already happened at the occasion of previous presidential elections since 1992. (See FIDH / KHRCP Report May 2007 )Our organisations call for calm with regard the tomorrow announced demonstration.
FIDH and KHRC request
The national authorities
– to respect the right to freedom of expression in conformity with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
– to demand the security forces to proportionally respond to protests of opposition supporters;
– to ensure that all individuals responsible for human rights violations be prosecuted;
– to invite the United Nations Special Rapporteur on summary executions to visit Kenya;
The leader of the opposition
– to repeat his call for calm and to protest the results of the elections through legal proceedings;
– to engage into a political dialogue with Mr Mwai Kibaki;
The international community
– to establish an international independent commission to investigate on the electoral process and on the subsequent exactions committed in Kenya;
The African Union
– to call for dialogue between political parties for restoration of calm and for the establishment of an international independent commission to investigate on the electoral process and on the subsequent exactions committed in Kenya;
The European Union and the Commonwealth Secretariat
– to take all appropriate measures with regards to the human rights violations committed in Kenya.
Press Contact -> Gaël Grilhot : 33 1 43 55 90 19