HUMAN RIGHTS BREACHES TO AFFECT ELECTIONS IN KENYA.

02/10/1997
Press release

A human rights delegation returning from Kenya last night declared that continuing violations of human rights, particularly in the coastal region around Mombasa, would seriously affect the forthcoming elections.

While welcoming the Kenyan Government’s recent agreement to constitutional reforms proposed by the Inter Party Parliamentary Group (IPPG) which take account of some but by no means all of the grievances of the opposition and civil society as expressed through the National Convention Executive Council (NCEC), the delegation expressed concern that President Moi still retained a majority on the Electoral Commission and that the President can still be elected on a minority vote.

« The government is to be cogratulated for accepting the constitutional reforms », said Michael Ellman, a London solicitor and spokesperson for the mission of the International Federation for Human Rights Leagues (of which he is vice-President). « However, it is regrettable that a fuller and more open debate was not allowed and that the reforms are being rushed through so close to the election, allowing insufficient time to ensure that the government puts them fully into effect. Moreover, the Kenyan Government continues to castigate the NCEC as unpatriotic and has once again succeeded in dividing the Opposition. »

Under these conditions it is unlikely that the elections will be free and fair, concluded the mission, which also included Dr Matchabe-Hove, president of ZimRights of Zimbabwe and Marie Ryan, an Autralian journalist currently based in london.

The delegation visited the Mombasa area, scene of the continuing ethnic violence which has deterred thousands of tourists, and concluded that the violence had been sanctioned at a high political level. Groups of well-trained armed raiders numbering up to 100 at a time had been sufficiently organised to attack Likoni police station and carry out massive killings and injuries. Up to 100,000 up-contry people, known to be opposition voters, had fled the area.

The government party, Kanu, has previously exploited tribal rivalries to promote its own interests and while it is difficult to see any logical motive for these raids given the severe impact they have had on Kenya’s tourist income, the mission found the evidence of Kanu involvement too strong to ignore.

During its visit, the mission interviewed government spokespersons as well as opposition members and victims of ethnic violence.

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