Amnesty faults state for neglecting PEV victims
Amnesty International Country Director Justus Nyang'aya. PHOTO | FILE
A new report by Amnesty International (AI) has accused the government of forgetting about survivors of the 2008 post-election violence who were not displaced during the skirmishes.
The report, launched on Tuesday, claims no assistance had been given to those who were maimed or raped, or those whose family members were killed, especially in Nairobi, without having been displaced.
The 69-page document, titled Crying for Justice for the Post-Election Violence in Kenya, indicates that authorities have only been focusing on resettling displaced survivors, but have neglected the needs of others who sustained physical and mental injuries.
“While internally displaced people had received compensation and resettlement from the government, other victims with injuries had not received any assistance,” AI researchers say on the findings of a study conducted between October and December last year.
“The majority of victims who(m) Amnesty International spoke to had not received reparation through the existing schemes and wanted the government to take further measures to address the harm they suffered and to help them rebuild their lives.”
NO OFFICIAL COUNT
At least 660,000 people lost their homes and other property in the 2008 post-poll violence, while 1,100 others were killed.
There is no official count for those who sustained injuries during the clashes.
The government, beginning September last year, decided to give monetary compensation to those affected in Nakuru, starting with a Sh3.3 billion fund from which each family was to receive Sh400,000. About 770 households were targeted in this cash payment.
However, Amnesty International charges that the resettlement money is not enough and that some of those affected by the violence were forgotten and the country seemed to have moved on after settling those in camps.
AI interviewed 49 survivors from Nairobi, Naivasha, Nakuru, Eldoret, Kericho, Kisumu and Kisii. All of them detailed accounts of beatings, rape, family members being killed or their families being uprooted.
