NGOs criticise Kenya on rights violations

from MARIA MACHARIA in Nairobi, Kenya
Kenya Bureau
NAIROBI, (CAJ News) – OVER 20 local non-governmental organisations (ngoS) have written to the Kenyan government to end violations of human rights – online and offline.

The violations have left around 50 people dead in recent weeks of protests over the Finance Bill.

President William Ruto withdrew the bill on June 26 but protests have continued. Authorities have continued to crack down on protesters through arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearance, attempts to silence dissent online and offline and violence.

The open letter addresses an alarming trend of internet disruptions during the height of the #RejectFinanceBill2024 protests, heavily impacting social media access, especially X, which was inaccessible for people in Kenya for an extended time recently.

Although telecommunication companies Safaricom and Airtel attributed the outages to undersea cable cuts, notably the disruptions were concentrated during the height of the protests on June 25.

In addition, some media houses reported having been threatened with shutdown actions due to their live broadcast of the protests.

The open letter demands Kenyan authorities protect people’s rights to organise online and offline by ceasing the abduction and detention of online organisers and political dissidents and immediately releasing those in arbitrary detention, guarantee access to all forms of communications including access to social media and messaging platforms,
and ensure a credible and transparent investigation into human rights violations during the protests.

Jaimee Kokonya, Africa Campaigner at Access Now, said during times of unrest, people must be able to freely express themselves online and offline without fear of intimidation, violence or censorship.

“Kenyan authorities and telcos must ensure open, secure, and reliable access to mobile networks and online communications platforms to avoid trampling on people’s rights and putting people at risk of harm- online and off,” Kokonya said.

Generation Z, the organizer of the protests, argue the Finance Bill adds to the escalating tax burden.

They demand the resignation of Ruto, who has been in power since 2022.

– CAJ News