[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 33 (Wednesday, February 25, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S2467]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         HUMAN RIGHTS IN KENYA

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, during the past year, I and other Senators 
have urged the Government of Kenya to effectively address reports of 
egregious misconduct by its police and military forces, including 
torture and summary executions. The Mount Elgon killings, culminating 
in the slaughter of some 200 people by the police and army soldiers in 
2008, were particularly appalling, yet the government has yet to 
conduct a credible, transparent, thorough investigation.
  We now have the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur, 
which confirms, again, the conclusions of multiple human rights 
organizations. I would hope that the Government of Kenya recognizes 
that it is in its interest, and that it has a responsibility, to 
promptly implement the Special Rapporteur's recommendations.
  Kenya is an ally and friend of the United States. In fact, we are 
training some of Kenya's security forces. It is imperative that these 
violations be addressed urgently and decisively, and that the 
individuals involved in these atrocities, including those who gave the 
orders, are brought to justice.
  I ask unanimous consent that a press release on the Special 
Rapporteur's report be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                From the Press Center--U.N. Headquarters

       Nairobi, February 25, 2009.--Today, the UN Special 
     Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Mr. Philip Alston, 
     concluded his 16-25 February 2009 fact-finding mission to 
     Kenya.
       The UN independent expert stated that, ``Killings by police 
     in Kenya are systematic, widespread and carefully planned. 
     They are committed at will and with utter impunity.'' He also 
     found that death squads were set up upon the orders of senior 
     police officials to exterminate the Mungiki.
       He called on the President of Kenya to acknowledge the 
     widespread problem of extrajudicial executions in Kenya and 
     to commit to systemic reform. ``Effective leadership on this 
     issue can only come from the very top, and sweeping reforms 
     to the policing sector should begin with the immediate 
     dismissal of the Police Commissioner,'' concluded the 
     independent expert. ``Further, given his role in encouraging 
     the impunity that exists in Kenya, the Attorney-General 
     should resign so that the integrity of the office can be 
     restored.''
       In addition, the Special Rapporteur found compelling 
     evidence that in Mt Elgon, the police and military committed 
     organised torture and extrajudicial executions against 
     civilians during their 2008 operation to flush out the Sabaot 
     Land Defence Force militia. ``For two years, the SLDF militia 
     terrorized the population and the Government did far too 
     little. And when the Government did finally act, they 
     responded with their own form of terror and brutality, 
     killing over 200 people.'' He said that since the security 
     forces had not investigated the allegations in any convincing 
     manner ``the Government should immediately act to set up an 
     independent commission for Mount Elgon, modeled on the Waki 
     Commission''.
       With respect to the accountability for the post-election 
     violence, the Special Rapporteur stated that the setting up 
     of the Special Tribunal for Kenya was ``absolutely 
     indispensible to ensure that Kenya does not again descend 
     into chaos during the 2012 elections.'' He called on civil 
     society and the international community to take a firm line 
     on its establishment. ``At the same time, this is an ideal 
     case for the ICC to urgently take up'', he added, stressing 
     that the two approaches were not mutually exclusive and a 
     two-track approach should be adopted.
       The Special Rapporteur also recommended that an independent 
     civilian police oversight body be established, that records 
     of police killings be centralized, that an independent 
     Department of Public Prosecutions be created, across-the-
     board vetting of the police be undertaken, the setting up of 
     an independent witness protection program, that the 
     Government issue substantive responses to KNCHR reports, and 
     compensation for the victims of those unlawfully killed.
       In the course of his ten-day visit, the Special Rapporteur 
     visited Nairobi, Central, Rift Valley, Western and Nyanza 
     Provinces. He conducted in-depth private interviews with more 
     than one hundred victims and witnesses. Mr. Alston met with 
     senior Government officials, including the Prime Minister, 
     the Minister of Justice, the Assistant Minister of Defence, 
     the Chief of Police and the Chief of Staff of the Armed 
     Forces, as well as officials at the provincial and district 
     levels. He also met with the Kenya National Commission on 
     Human Rights, the independent national human rights 
     institution, as well as with civil society organizations.
       The full text of the Special Rapporteur's statement is 
     available at www.extrajudicialexecutions.org.

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