UN report puts the Kibaki team on trial

“Perhaps the most surprising outcome of my visit was the extent to which I received overwhelming testimony of the existence of systematic, widespread and carefully planned extra-judicial executions undertaken on a regular basis by the Kenyan police,” he notes in the report.

“The police commissioner in particular, along with various other senior officials, assured me that no such killings take place. But he and his colleagues appear to be the only people in the entire country who believe this claim.”

All the same, the government must not rubbish the report; it must show that it is not in denial. It must show it is willing to listen and respond in such a way that it exhibits accountability over the extra-judicial killings. It must also show beyond doubt that it upholds human rights. It must, in fact, live up to the legal fiction that it invited Prof Alston.

IT IS LEGAL FICTION BECAUSE GOVERNMENTS never “invite” rapporteurs to investigate extra-judicial killings. Prof Alston created the invitation to be able to perform his duties. The government subsequently “invited” him.

A government’s “invitation” reflects government’s willingness to permit outside scrutiny. It is a signal that it is prepared to engage on the issue. The government must not renege on this. Kenya was a little tardy, but responded positively after Prof Alston, in a report, complained to the UN General Assembly.

The government must at least recognise that Prof Alston’s report has provided powerless Kenyans, particularly the victims, with a powerful tool to demand justice.