UN official accuses police of rights abuse

A United Nations special investigator has accused the Kenyan police and military of conducting a campaign of “systematic intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders.”

Mr Philip Alston, who issued a blistering report in February on arbitrary killings by Kenyan security forces, said in his new statement that the government appears to have “carefully coordinated” an effort to “silence individual monitors and instill fear in civil society organisations at large.”

The UN Special Rapportuer said neither President Kibaki nor Internal Security Minister George Saitoti had criticised actions by law enforcement agencies that have forced activists to go into hiding in Kenya or flee the country.

“In addition,” Mr Alston said, “offers of help from the FBI to investigate assassinations have been rebuffed.”

“The international community cannot stand by as Kenya responds to findings highlighting human rights violations by unleashing an attack on those struggling to document and respond to such violations,” he said.

Resignation

Many of the activists allegedly targeted by the police and military had assisted Mr Alston’s earlier investigations, he said on Tuesday.

When issuing his preliminary report in February, Mr Alston called for the resignation of Attorney General Amos Wako and the sacking of Police Commissioner Hussein Ali.