By Roseleen Nzioka
Nairobi, Kenya: The United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, has called on the Government of Kenya to protect and support human rights defenders as they carry out their work.
This comes after a Kenyan Human Rights defender Ruth Mumbi was threatened with ‘disappearance’ after she gathered and published testimonies of the victims of the Kariobangi evictions in Nairobi in May.
Ms. Mumbi collaborated with human rights organizations and journalists to document the impact of the dislodgment on the evictees. She raised awareness of the dire humanitarian situation and collected funds to assist the evicted families.
According to a published report on the website of the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, Ms. Mumbi received a call on May 12, from an individual claiming to be a police officer.
He threatened to ‘disappear’ her if she did not stop advocating for the eviction victims. When she reported the threat to the police, they initially refused to log the incident in their records or take any immediate steps to guarantee her safety. She has since been able to file a complaint following interventions by human rights organizations.
The UN experts expressed grave concern for Mumbi’s safety and called on the Kenya Government to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation into the threats she has received, as well as the initial refusal of the police to record the incident.
“Forced disappearances are a grave and flagrant violation of human rights, and the Government has the obligation to guarantee Ms. Mumbi’s protection from such a threat, whether it comes from public officials or third parties acting with the acquiescence or knowledge of the State,” they said.
The experts’ call has been endorsed by the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances: Luciano Hazan (Chair), Tae-Ung Baik (Vice-Chair), Bernard Duhaime, Houria Es-Slami, and Henrikas Mickevičius; the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri; and the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, Léo Heller.
The Kenyan Government must halt all evictions during the COVID-19 crisis and protect the safety of human rights defenders who are under threat for working for the rights of the evictees, the new UN Special Rapporteurs on the right to housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, and on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor said.
“The Kenyan authorities have the obligation to stop any further contemplated evictions, urgently provide assistance to the evictees, guarantee their rights to shelter, food, water, and sanitation,” the UN experts said. “They must also put in place a plan, with the full participation of the evictees, to find a long-term solution to their housing needs.”
The experts’ call comes after the massive and forceful eviction of residents of Kariobangi and Ruai informal settlements in Nairobi, and the harassment of a housing rights defender threatened with ‘disappearance’.
“Not only does destroy the homes of thousands of persons without any alternative accommodation constitute a grave violation of their right to housing but doing so in the current context of a pandemic violates multiple human rights norms and exacerbates its potential impact on the rights to health and life of thousands of Kenyans,” the experts said.
