The permanent mission of Kenya responded to the UN over a statement issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the anti-government protests.
The OHCHR released a statement on Friday 14th, urging the local authorities to use deadly force when dealing with anti-government protests. It was released by the OHCHR spokesperson, Jeremy Lawrence. He called for investigations into the deaths and injuries incurred during the protests.
The Kenyan Permanent Mission offered a rebuttal to the statement on Sunday. They contested this by stating that the protests were wrongly portrayed and misinformed.
“While the Permanent Mission shares the OHCHR’s concern for human rights, it is obliged to contest the representation of recent events in Kenya as ‘peaceful protests’. Such a designation belies the widely and credibly documented ground reality,” read the statement by PS Foreign Affairs Korir Sing’oei.
The statement further contested the allegations that the violent acts are widespread. They mentioned that the incidents of violence were confined only to a few areas and not the entire country.
Management of the anti-government protests
In addition to that, the mission clarified that the protests were being managed appropriately by law enforcement agencies. The agencies are mandated to provide safety to majority Kenyans and limit the extent of the disruption experienced.
“The use of such information without due diligence raises concerns on the quality of data in question. This method of information gathering bypasses the primary duty of OHCHR to establish the facts before making critical statements,” read the statement.
The mission questioned the reliability and credibility of the ‘third-party’ information used by the OHCHR. They mention that it reduces the quality of information they used to censure Kenya.
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Further to this, the mission stated that the Kenyan government recognizes its obligation to protect and uphold citizens’ rights to peacefully assemble and protest. They further stated that they recognize their commitment to peace, democracy and human rights.
They, therefore, mentioned the need to differentiate between holding peaceful protests alongside peaceful assembling of citizens and destructive rioting. According to the mission, what happened last week on Wednesday was in no way a peaceful protest but rather a ploy to destroy property.
Inclusive of the contests made, the mission agreed with the call for fast investigations on the protests held. The unfortunate deaths, destruction of property and disruptive movement termed as protests should be further looked into. The mission emphasised that this should not be misunderstood as tolerance of violent behaviours displayed on the day.
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