NAIROBI — Concerns have been expressed by Western diplomats in Kenya regarding reports of arbitrary arrests and forced disappearances, and they are calling for prompt investigations as the nation assumes its role on the United Nations Human Rights Council.
In a collective statement released on Thursday, a group of nine ambassadors and high commissioners indicated their willingness to assist Kenya in garnering the necessary political commitment to promote positive changes.
Human rights organizations have pointed fingers at Kenyan authorities for detaining government critics without due process, with numerous individuals reportedly missing, and in some instances, their disfigured remains found shortly afterwards.
Kenya secured a position on the U.N. Human Rights Council along with several other African nations on October 9.
The diplomats’ statement emerged shortly after the abduction and subsequent repatriation of four Turkish nationals from Kenya, who had sought asylum status with the U.N., citing life threats back in their home country.
Amnesty International Kenya expressly stated that the “abduction and forced return to countries they fled” is a breach of the non-refoulement principle incorporated in Kenyan law.
According to international law, non-refoulement prevents the return of any individual to a country where they may endure torture, cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment, or other irreparable damage.
On Thursday, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights reported that it had been probing 60 incidents of extrajudicial killings and 71 cases of abductions and forced disappearances since June.
The nation has experienced a wave of anti-government protests, peaking on June 25 when demonstrators stormed and set fire to parliament, resulting in several fatalities among the protesters outside the venue.
On Wednesday, police reported that 97 women had been victims of homicide by men over the past three months, emphasizing a surge in instances of gender-based violence.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Kipkoech Langat acknowledged the rising numbers of murder and manslaughter cases, labeling this an alarming trend.
Recent killings have also drawn attention, involving three women who vanished and whose dismembered bodies were discovered in separate locations the previous week.
In July, dismembered corpses of nine women were located in a quarry within Nairobi, leading to the arrest of a male suspect, who later escaped police custody while investigations were ongoing.
Human rights advocates have accused the government in recent days of leveraging arrests and abductions to suppress dissenting voices.
A notable activist, Boniface Mwangi, was apprehended on Sunday by unidentified men and held at a police facility for a day, only to be released later without any charges being brought against him.